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

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe winds of change are blowing across the African continent have not left untouched the smallnation of Burundi. These continent-wide trends, along with a recurrence of ethnic violence in1988, provoked the government of President Buyoya to set the country with renewedcommitment on the path of national unity and reconciliation through the mechanism of atransition to mUltiparty democracy.In 1989, President Buyoya charged a National Commmission with studying the question ofnational unity. The Commission's report became a focal point for discussion of the interrelatedissues of ethnic conflict and democracy. The Charter of National Unity that grew outof those discussions was ratified by an overwhelming majority of the people of Burundi in areferendum in 1991. The momentum of change continued with the drafting of a newconstitution that established a framework to legalize opposition political parties and which wasratified in a national referendum in March 1992. It is projected that the laws permitting theregistration of political parties will soon be passed by the government, and that multipartyelections for legislature and president will take place by early 1993.Despite this undeniable progress toward national reconciliation and democracy, many problemsremain to be resolved. Some political groups perceive the government as a merely cosmeticchange from the previous regime dominated by the ruling single party UPRONA. Indeed, thegovernment, while including a wider range of political elites, still rules by decree, with littlepopular input or control. Inter-ethnic tensions remain high, as evidenced by renewed violencebetween the main ethnic groups in November 1991. Accusations of human rights abuses by thegovernment and by security and law enforcement bodies continue to be brought to the attentionof international human rights organizations. The existing laws, and even the new Constitutionand Charter of National Unity, continue to put constraints on political freedom which couldprove detrimental to the establishment of a true multi-party democracy.In late March and early April 1992, a team of election experts was sent to Burundi by theIInternational Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), at the invitation of the Government ofBurundi and the U.S. Embassy in Bujumbura, to conduct a Pre-Election Assessment. Thisassessment mission was financed through the U.S. Agency for International Development. TheIFES assessment team was comprised of a Canadian election official from Alberta, a DutchI