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

VTI. REGISTRATION AND VOTING PROCEDURESThe Ministry of Interior has been responsible for elections in Burundi. Within the Ministry theDirector General for Territorial Administration and Security is charged with the administrationof elections.Burundi's Electoral Code was decreed in 1982. Other than two subsequent decrees toaccommodate the modalities of the 1991 Charter of National Unity and the 1992 Constitution,the Code has not been changed. The IFES team was informed that a new Electoral Code willbe drafted by the Transition Government to accommodate multi-party elections. There was noindication at the time of the team's visit when the new Code would be promulgated, and it didnot appear to be a priority of the Government.In the opinion of the IFES team, the current Code, while requiring substantial revision to meetthe needs of a pluralistic form of election, is comprehensive in its provisions for the variouselectoral processes. (See Appendix H.)•Most recent information obtained following the census prepared for the ConstitutionalReferendum in March 1992 lists a total of 2,454,181 electors. This comprehensive censusprovides for a breakdown of the electorate by coliines, communes and provinces. Theexistence of these statistics will be very valuable in the administration of subsequent elections,especially when organizing the establishment of polling stations. Boundaries for electionpurposes are the same as administrative boundaries currently used, delineating collines,communes and provinces.Following a review of the present laws and various decrees, the IFES team wishes to elaborateon the various election procedures and propose changes which will provide the followingbenefits:• guarantee that the elector can vote in full confidence of the secrecy of his or herballot;• provide a process that will be efficient;•• attempt to simplify the process for the elector, so that he/she can more easily31