Burundian legislative election, 2015
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Parliamentary elections were held in
Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...
on 29 June 2015. The vote had been initially set for 5 June 2015, alongside local elections, but it was delayed due to
unrest Unrest, also called disaffection, is a sociological phenomenon, including: * Civil unrest * Civil disorder * Domestic terrorism * Industrial unrest * Labor unrest * Rebellion * Riot * Strike action * State of emergency Notable historical instance ...
.Clement Manirabarusha
"Burundi says has delayed elections amid prolonged protests"
Reuters, 3 June 2015.
Indirect elections to the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
occurred on 24 July.


Background

In the previous legislative election in 2010, the ruling
National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy The National Council for the Defense of DemocracyForces for the Defense of Democracy (french: Conseil National Pour la Défense de la DémocratieForces pour la Défense de la Démocratie, CNDD–FDD) is the major political party in Burundi. Durin ...
won a large majority. The election was boycotted by most opposition parties following claims of fraud in the local elections held on 24 May. This left the opposition
Union for National Progress The Union for National Progress (french: Union pour le Progrès national, UPRONA) is a nationalist political party in Burundi. It initially emerged as a nationalist united front in opposition to Belgian colonial rule but subsequently became an i ...
and
Front for Democracy in Burundi–Nyakuri The Front for Democracy in Burundi–Nyakuri (french: Front pour la Démocratie au Burundi–Nyakuri, FRODEBU-Nyakuri), also known as Sahwanya Frodebu Iragi rya Ndadaye, is a political party in Burundi. History The party was established in June ...
(which were supportive of the ruling party) the only other parties to win seats. The announcement by the ruling party that the incumbent
President of Burundi The president of Burundi, officially the President of the Republic ( French: ''Président de la République''), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Burundi. The president is also commander-in-chief of the National Def ...
,
Pierre Nkurunziza Pierre Nkurunziza (18 December 19648 June 2020) was a Burundian politician who served as the ninth president of Burundi for almost 15 years from August 2005 until his death in June 2020. A member of the Hutu ethnic group, Nkurunziza taught ph ...
, would run for a third term in the presidential election, which was planned to be held on 26 June, sparked protest by those who were opposed to Nkurunziza seeking a third term in office. Critics of the president say his actions jeopardise a peace deal that has kept ethnic tensions in check since the
Burundian Civil War The Burundian Civil War was a civil war in Burundi lasting from 1993 to 2005. The civil war was the result of longstanding ethnic divisions between the Hutu and the Tutsi ethnic groups. The conflict began following the first multi-party election ...
ended in 2005 and that Nkurunziza is not constitutionally permitted to seek a third term in office; his supporters argue that his first five-year term should not count because he was elected by a parliamentary vote rather than a popular vote. Widespread demonstrations in the capital,
Bujumbura Bujumbura (; ), formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, largest city and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. Bujumbura was formerly the country's normal capital. In late ...
, lasted for over three weeks. During that time the country's highest court approved Nkurunziza's right to run for a third term in office despite the fact that at least one of court's judges fled the country claiming he had received death threats from members of the government. As a result of the protests the government also shut down the country's internet and telephone network, closed all of the country's universities and government officials publicly referred to the protesters as "terrorists". Since late April tens of thousands of people have fled the country, hundreds of people have been arrested and several protesters and police have been killed while dozens more have been injured. On 13 May, a coup was announced, led by Maj. Gen.
Godefroid Niyombare Godefroid Niyombare (born 1969) is a Burundian military officer who led a coup attempt against President Pierre Nkurunziza on 13 May 2015. At the time of the coup attempt, Niyombare was a Major General. He previously served as military chief of ...
, while President Nkurunziza was in
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
attending an emergency conference about the situation in the country."Army general in Burundi says president is ousted"
Associated Press, 13 May 2015.
By the next day the coup collapsed and government forces reasserted control. The elections were originally planned to be held 26 May, but as a result of the unrest, the election was postponed to 5 June. The
East African Community The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of seven countries in the Great Lakes region of East Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republics of Kenya, Burundi, ...
together with South African President
Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...
called on the government to delay the elections. The opposition has also called for a delay, and stated they would boycott the elections on 5 June. The
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
and the Catholic Church of Burundi pulled out of observing the elections, stating that the vote could not be held fairly because of unrest and a crackdown of the media. The head of the electoral commission, Pierre-Claver Ndayicariye (also President of the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...
) announced on 3 June that the parliamentary and local elections would not take place as planned on 5 June and were being delayed to an unspecified date. On 8 June 2015, the electoral commission proposed that the parliamentary election take place on 26 June. The date was later set as 29 June 2015.


Electoral system

The
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
has 100 directly-elected members, who are elected in 18 multi-member constituencies (equal to the provinces) using the
closed list Closed list describes the variant of party-list systems where voters can effectively only vote for political parties as a whole; thus they have no influence on the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected. If voters had some inf ...
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
system, with seat allocation decided by the
d'Hondt method The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highest- ...
with a national 2% electoral threshold. A further three members of the
Twa Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with ...
ethnic group are appointed, and more members are co-opted to ensure a 60-40 split between Hutus and Tutsis, and a 30% quota for female MPs.Elections held in 2005
IPU
The Senate is elected by colleges of local councillors, with three Twa members appointed and more members co-opted to ensure a 50-50 split between Hutus and Tutsis and a 30% quota for female Senators.


Campaign

Sixteen lists of parties, coalitions and independents contested the elections. Seventeen opposition parties announced on 26 June that they would boycott both the parliamentary election and the subsequent presidential election.


Conduct

The African Union announced on 28 June that its election observers would not observe the parliamentary election scheduled for the next day, saying that the "necessary conditions" for "free, fair, transparent and credible elections" did not exist. United Nations observers stated that the elections were not "free, inclusive or credible" due to "a climate of widespread fear and intimidation in parts of the country".


Results


National Assembly

Provisional results announced on 7 July 2015 showed the CNDD–FDD obtaining 77 of the 100 contested seats; the opposition coalition, which had called for a boycott, was credited with 21 seats, and
UPRONA The Union for National Progress (french: Union pour le Progrès national, UPRONA) is a nationalist political party in Burundi. It initially emerged as a nationalist united front in opposition to Belgian colonial rule but subsequently became an ...
obtained two seats. Turnout was placed at 74.32%."Burundi's ruling party wins legislative poll"
, Xinhua, 7 July 2015.
The opposition coalition remained on the ballot papers despite boycotting and vowing that it would not participate in the next National Assembly. In the event that the elected deputies from the opposition do not take up their seats, according to the electoral law those seats would be reassigned to parties that received more than 5% of the vote.


Senate

The Senate was elected on 24 July by an electoral college composed of local councillors. The chamber gained two members as a result of the creation of
Rumonge Province Rumonge Province is one of the eighteen provinces of Burundi. It was created on 26 March 2015 by combining the communes of Burambi, Buyengero and Rumonge, previously part of Bururi Province, with the Bugarama and Muhuta communes previously belon ...
.


Aftermath

The National Assembly began meeting for its new term on 27 July 2015. Members of ''Amizero y'Abarundi'', the opposition coalition, were divided on whether to take up their parliamentary seats. The main opposition leader,
Agathon Rwasa Agathon Rwasa (born 10 January 1964) is a Burundian politician and the leader of the National Liberation Forces (''Forces pour la Libération Nationale'', FNL). He was a Hutu militia leader during the Burundi Civil War. Rwasa was reported to be ...
, said that 20 deputies from his party, the
National Forces of Liberation The National Forces of Liberation (french: Forces nationales de libération, or FNL) is a political party and former rebel group in Burundi. An ethnic Hutu group, the party was previously known as the Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People ( ...
(FNL), would take up their seats, but Charles Nditije of the
Union for National Progress The Union for National Progress (french: Union pour le Progrès national, UPRONA) is a nationalist political party in Burundi. It initially emerged as a nationalist united front in opposition to Belgian colonial rule but subsequently became an i ...
(UPRONA) said that the 10 UPRONA deputies would not. Nditije said that it would be "impossible to take seats" considering that they had boycotted the election. On 30 July 2015, Pascal Nyabenda, the President of the CNDD-FDD, was elected as President of the National Assembly. Agathon Rwasa was elected as First Vice-President and Edouard Nduwimana, who had been Minister of the Interior, as Second Vice-President.Ole Tangen Jr.
"Burundi opposition leader wins top position in National Assembly"
''Deutsche Welle'', 30 July 2015.
"Burundi: Agathon Rwasa devient vice-président de l’Assemblée nationale"
Radio France Internationale, 30 July 2015 .
There were no opposing candidates for any of the three positions. Nyabenda received 101 votes and Rwasa, with the backing of CNDD-FDD deputies, received 108 out of 112 votes. By accepting a top post in the legislature and appearing to adopt a conciliatory approach to the government, Rwasa infuriated some in the opposition, who viewed his actions as betrayal.
Révérien Ndikuriyo Révérien Ndikuriyo is a Burundian politician, currently serving as secretary-general of the National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD), a position he has held since 2021. From 2015 to 2020, h ...
, a CNDD-FDD Senator, was elected as President of the Senate on 14 August 2015. He was the only candidate for the post and was unanimously elected. Spès Caritas Njebarikanuye, a CNDD-FDD Senator, was elected as First Vice-President of the Senate, and Anicet Niyongabo, a UPRONA Senator, was elected as Second Vice-President."Election du nouveau bureau du Sénat"
Senate of Burundi website, 14 August 2015 .


References

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