Burundi election explainer
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Transcript of Burundi election explainer
This is NOT the Presidential election in which President
Pierre Nkurunziza intends to run for a third term.
That takes place on July 15, 2015.
This is a parliamentary election in which more than 2,200
candidates, representing 16 parties, coalitions or
independent candidates are in the race for a seat.
Firstly …
What are the rules?
Under the constitution, based on peace
deals that paved the way for the end
of a 13-year civil war in 2006, there are
strict ethnic quotas in parliament.
What are the rules?
Parliament must be made up of 60%
from the majority Hutu people,
who make up some 85 percent of the
population, with the remaining 40
percent of elected seats reserved for
the minority Tutsi. At least 30 percent
of seats must also be held by women.
What are the rules?
Three extra seats on top of the 100
voted for are reserved for the Twa
ethnic group, which make up some
one percent of the population.
Extra seats may by handed to female
MPs or ethnic groups if the thresholds
required are not met in direct
elections.
What are the rules?
Some 4.8 million registered voters out
of a population of 10 million are due to
cast ballots for 100 lawmakers.
What are the rules?
Lawmakers are elected for five years
but can take up seats only if their
parties receive more than two percent
of the national vote.
CNDD-FDD
The National Council for the Defence of
Democracy - Forces for the Defence of Democracy
is
the ruling party of President Nkurunziza.
It is an ex-rebel Hutu group, whose youth wing is
the Imbonerakure, a fearsome group accused of
being a militia force by the UN.
FNL
The National Liberation Forces, another Hutu
former rebel group, once a CNDD-FDD rival
during the civil war, but now allies.
Independents of Hope
Candidates led by Nkurunziza's two main
opponents - Agathon Rwasa, formerly FNL
leader, and Charles Nditije, formerly UPRONA
head, who were ousted from their parties but
remain powerful challengers to the president.
ADC-Ikibiri
The Democratic Alliance for Change is a
coalition of a dozen opposition parties,
dominated by the mainly Hutu party FRODEBU.
And finally ….
The opposition has threatened to boycott
elections, as it did in 2010, if it believes polls are
not free and fair, conditions it says so far have
not been met.