II ~I ~ ~II~ ~~ ~II ~ ~II - IFES

' .. -"IFES Pre-electionAssessment: Burundi(clandestine) and external opposition groups.The draft Charter of National Unity (see Appendix F) was approved by national referendum onFebruary 5, 1991 by an electoral margin of 89 %. The Charter is all encompassing andprohibits discrimination on the basis of region, religion, ethnicity or sex. It was rejected as a"farce" by PALIPEHUTU and other opposition groups. In spite of the many efforts by theGovernment, November 1991 saw the renewal of bloodshed, a repeat of the ugly violence ofthe past. While the Charter embraces national reconciliation, the incidents of November 1991clearly confirm that not all Burundians have accepted its spirit.Constitutional CommissionThe Constitutional Commission, named on March 21, 1991; received a triple mission:• Analyze problems associated with democratization and produce a Report for thePresident of the Republic;• Organize a national debate on the democratization of institutions and politicallife; and• Draft a new Constitution for the Republic of Burundi and develop a program ofdialogue on its contents with the Burundi population prior to a referendum.The Commission presented its report to the President in August 1991, and the document wasshared with the popUlation on September 10, 1991. (See Appendix C.)•The national debate on the draft Constitution began September 30, 1991 to November 1991,with a second round presented during the period of December 13 and 21, 1991. The BurundiConstiiuti6n was ratified by referendum on March 9, 1992 when more than 90 % voted infavour of its approval .10