The International Day of Democracy which is celebrated yearly on 15 September seems to be a bone of contention among Burundian politicians. Some say there is democracy while others say the opposite. Power separation is the basis of their argument.
Jean de Dieu Mutabazi “We are on the right way though there is still a long way to go”
The separation of power is one of the fundamental principles of democracy. It divides the tasks of the state into the legislative, executive and judicial branches.
Evariste Ndayishimiye, Secretary General of the ruling party CNDD-FDD says there is democracy in Burundi as there is no interference between the above branches. “Democracy is real in Burundi since there is separation of power in the constitution.All the institutions are governed by the law. The executive does not interfere in judiciary affairs neither does the legislative,” he says.
This leader of the ruling party says he is proud of the so far achieved democracy. However, he mentions that due to the past of the country, some people still want to confuse the three institutions. “Some are used to the interference between the three institutions. For example, there are people who do not want to be judged because of their status”. He says it is a question of time and understanding.
Léonce Ngendakumana, vice-president of Sahwanya-Frodebu party, does not recognize the separation of power in Burundi. “It is clear that there is undue influence of the Executive over the Judiciary institution in Burundi”.
“The separation of power is reflected in the fact that some functions must not be exercised by one and the same person. In Burundi, all the three institutions are controlled by a group of people” said Ngendakumana.
The fact that there is no separation of power in Burundi has led to the on-going crisis. He gave the example of the dependence of the judiciary institution on the executive. “If justice were independent as it is in Kenya, the opposition would have not staged protests in 2015” said Ngendakumana.
There is still a long way to go…
In the Burundian constitution, there is separation of power. The three institutions work independently but there is no democratic culture in Burundi. Democracy is still misunderstood. For example, in order to contest the third term, protestors would have used the legal way. What happened in Kenya could set a good example to the Burundian politicians,” said Jean de Dieu Mutabazi, representative of Radebu party
For him, everybody has to contribute to the process of reinforcing democracy: “There is a long way to go but we are on the right way. We think that all the politicians will abandon violent ways to adopt legal ones. Democracy means the rule of law”
As for Charles Nditije, Chairman of Cnared, the opposition platform in exile, democracy has been destroyed: “The government itself is illegal. It stems from a constitutional coup”. He says all that is being done in Burundi is the violation of the law.
He mentions the fact that there is no distinction between the executive, the judiciary and legislative institutions. “There are many political parties that have been suspended and other politicians forced into exile without reasons. There is a group of people that control all”.
This year’s theme of democracy focuses on the critical need to strengthen democratic institutions to promote peace and stability.
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