Parliament of Burundi
Last Updated on Monday, 16 January 2012 10:51 Written by Communications Monday, 14 June 2010 12:43
Background
Burundi has been an independent State since 1st July 1962. Following a turbulent period on political, economic and social levels which resulted in civil war in 1994, a historical peace agreement was signed in Arusha, Tanzania on 28th August 2000 under the support of President Nelson Mandela. The peace agreement generated immense hope that it still remains the consensus, uniting all the warring factions in Burundi.
AWEPA’s involvement dates back to 1996 when it supported the Burundian Parliament in the peace process and has since supported the transition process following the Arusha Agreement, as well as contributed towards observing the legislative elections in July 2005.
The political change which followed the communal, legislative and presidential elections has placed Burundi at the head of African states to have undergone a successful transition process, making it possible to further envisage a lasting change.
Objectives
As a result of the General Elections (Communal, Presidential, Legislative and District), 2010 was marked by intense political activity in Burundi. These elections were preceded by AWEPA activities that contributed towards raising the awareness of political actors and how to organize transparent, democratic and peaceful elections.
Results
The following outcomes can be attributed to actions carried out as part of the AWEPA programme in Burundi:
• A high level of participation by women in all the elections was noted following an important seminar and the organisation of campaign visits for female parliamentarians with a view of mobilising women during the 2010 elections. The principle of gender equality has been established in the Burundi Senate. There was also an increase in the number of women who participated in elections and who were on the electoral lists (32% in the National Assembly, 46.3% in the Senate, 42.8% in the Government and 34% for the Communal Council).
• The National Budget for 2011 was approved. The budget took the primary sectors into account, such as the agricultural sector, which saw its budget allocation rise from 5% to 10%.
• Following the elections, the AWEPA programme in Burundi promoted the organisation of a parliamentary session on Human Rights in Burundi. Following this session, a law resulting in the creation of the Independent National Commission for Human Rights (CNIDH) was approved by the Parliament during the course of its ordinary session in October 2010 and was promulgated by the President of the Republic of Burundi. The process of implementing audits is underway.
Activity
Observation of Communal Elections, 21 May 2010, Burundi
In 2010, the AWEPA-Burundi program consisted of organising activities in capacity building and parliamentary diplomacy. Due to the political situation in Burundi, parliamentary diplomacy actions were predominant. As part of parliamentary diplomacy programme an important observation mission was organized in collaboration with the Electoral Commission of Burundi. This observation mission, organised in collaboration with the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium, was coordinated by AWEPA. The preparation, organisation and monitoring of the election results were considered crucial for Burundi. •
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