CIAO DATE: 03/2010
February 2010
Burundi has made much progress in leaving its civil war behind, but tensions are rising ahead of elections. They could escalate dangerously in coming months, ruining the electoral process’s credibility and endangering a fragile democracy and, ultimately, many gains of the peace process. After strong international pressure was put on the ruling party, consensus was reached in September 2009 on an Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) and a new electoral code. The polls – communal, presidential, then legislative – are scheduled between May and September, but opposition parties are facing harassment and intimidation from police and the ruling party’s youth wing and appear to be choosing to respond to violence with violence. Both the region and Burundi’s other partners should reinforce election violence monitoring mechanisms and support deployment of a regional police mission. A senior regional envoy should be appointed to facilitate resolution of political disputes and party leaders warned they face sanctions if they rig elections and possible international prosecution if they commit serious violent crimes. Although an electoral framework endorsed by the majority of the political class is in place, opposition parties still cannot operate freely. In many parts of the country, local administrations are controlled by the ruling Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie – Forces de défense de la démocratie (CNDD-FDD). These local administrations order the police to disrupt opposition party gatherings and block them from opening local offices. At the same time, civil society organisations and some media are harassed for denouncing the ruling party’s authoritarian tendencies.
Resource link: Burundi: garantir un processus électoral crédible [PDF] - 1.3M