Third Tenure for Nkurunziza?

With five months to go before Burundi’s elections are scheduled to take place, much ambiguity, confusion and discord remains about the conditions under which they will take place. Opposition politicians state that the President will, at the time of the elections, have finished his ten-year mandate and were he to present his candidacy again, this would be a breach of the Burundi constitution and of the Arusha agreement.-By J.Berchmans Siboniyo

Charles Nditije: “…we will call on the international community for help” ©Iwacu

“In the CNDD-FDD, members cannot impose their candidacy for the presidency. Members decide together collectively in the form of a general assembly on party representatives. I am not independent. I am from CNDD-FDD. It will depend on the party and on the electoral committee (CENI)”, stated Pierre Nkurunziza, the Head of State during a public conference in Ruyigi province, East of Burundi, on 19 December.

The President of the Republic warned people to not meddle in others’affairs. He stated that the issue of the candidacy is a concern for the national independent electoral committee. “Many people want to do jobs that are not theirs. Burundi has a clear constitution, the Basic Law. We have to comply with it. ‘Umwewesenatekeinkonoyiwekukoutetsenyinshizishoborakuzigirazose’(Let anyone cook his own pot otherwise you may overcook all of them)”, he says.

Concerning the appeal of François Hollande, the President of France in Dakar Senegal, during the Francophonie summit, for African presidents to not change the constitutions of countries for selfish interests, Pierre Nkurunziza explains: “We may not compare Burkina Faso and Burundi.”He stated that the constitution and population of Burkina Faso are far different from Burundi’s. Nkurunziza believes that in the majority of cases, people change governments by force without considering the consequences and eventually find the situation become even worse than the old status quo. He provides examples of Arabic countries in the North of Africa.
Political parties in opposition did not delay to react. Charles Nditije, the Chairman of Uprona, a non-recognized wing by the Burundi government, indicates that the Burundi constitution is clear. He invites the President and the members of CNDD-FDD to read the 103rd article of the Burundi constitution of 2005: “The mandate of the President of the Republic debuts on the day of his taking of the oath and ends when his successor enters into his functions.”He continues that the Arusha agreement stipulates that the President runs the country for a 5-year mandate renewable only once. “If they go against the constitution and the Arusha agreement, we will call on the international community for help”, he says.

François Nyamoya, the spokesman of MSD, the movement for solidarity and democracy, says that it will be ‘Forcing’if the ruling party delegates Pierre Nkurunziza for the presidential.

Pascal Rwankara, an expert of constitutions indicates that Nkurunziza is not late to pronounce his will. “Even other political parties have not revealed their candidates yet”, he says. The outstanding question is whether Nkurunziza has the right to present his candidacy for the third mandate. Then the competent institutions will handle the question.”

The issue of the third tenure for Nkurunziza is not new. Politicians in opposition vehemently rejected changing the constitution. Members of ADC Ikibiri alliance’s diaspora held demonstrations in Belgium, Washington and Canada to rejecting the idea of changing the constitution to allow Nkurunziza to go for the third mandate.
Legend: 1.Charles Nditije: “…we will call on the international community for help”