AFRICAN ELECTIONS DATABASE
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Elections in Burundi
 
Political Profile
Political System: Emerging Democracy
President: Pierre Nkurunziza (CNDD-FDD) [since 26 August 2005; elected 2005, re-elected 2010] The President is elected by direct popular vote for a 5-year term.
Parliament [bicameral]
--Senate (49 Seats) 34 members (2 from each province) are indirectly elected by communal councilors, 3 members are from the ethnic Twa minority, 4 former presidents, and 8 co-opted members appointed to ensure that gender (at least 30% women) quotas are met; members serve 5-year terms.
--National Assembly (106 Seats) 100 members are elected by direct popular vote in multi-member constituencies using the party-list proportional representation system, 6 members are co-opted to ensure that constitutionally mandated ethnic (60% Hutu-40% Tutsi, and 3 Twa) and gender (at least 30% women) quotas are met; members serve 5-year terms.
Political Situation since Independence
1962-1966 Emerging Democracy
1966-1974 Military Regime & One Party State (UPRONA)
1974-1976 One Party State (UPRONA)
1976-1979 Military Regime
1979-1987 One Party State (UPRONA)
1987-1992 Military Regime & One Party State (UPRONA)
1992-1993 Multiparty Transition
1993         Democracy
1993-1996 Restricted Democratic Practice
1996         Military Regime
1996-2001 Restricted Democratic Practice
2001-2005 Transitional Government
2005-2010 Democracy
2010-        Emerging Democracy
2012 Freedom House Rating: Political Rights - 5, Civil Liberties - 5, Status: Partly Free
Next Scheduled Presidential Election: 2015
Next Scheduled National Assembly Election: 2015
Next Scheduled Senate Election: 2015
Political Parties: ACCEB - Association of the Middle Classes, Clerks, and Intellectuals of Burundi, Burundi People*, CNDD - National Council for the Defense of Democracy (predominately ethnic Hutu), CNDD-FDD - National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (predominately ethnic Hutu), FRODEBU - Front for Democracy in Burundi (predominately ethnic Hutu), FRODEBU-Nyakuri - Front for Democracy in Burundi-Nyakuri, MRC-Rurenzangemero - Movement for the Rehabilitation of Citizens-Rurenzangemero (predominately ethnic Tutsi), PARENA - Party for National Recovery (predominately ethnic Tutsi), PDC - Christian Democratic Party (conservative), PP - People’s Party (predominately ethnic Hutu), PRP - People’s Reconciliation Party (predominately ethnic Hutu, royalist), RADDES - Rally for Democracy and Economic and Social Development (predominately ethnic Tutsi), RPB - People's Rally of Burundi, RPB - Rally for the People of Burundi (predominately ethnic Hutu), UNARU - African National Union of Ruanda-Urundi, UNB - National Union of Burundi, UPROHUTU - Union for Hutu Promotion, UPRONA - Union for National Progress (authoritarian, predominately ethnic Tutsi), VPM - Voice of the Murundi People.
Coalitions: Common Front (FC) [Contested the 1961 Legislative Assembly Election] The main party in the Front was the Christian Democratic Party (PDC); Union of People's Parties (UPP) [Contested the 1961 Legislative Assembly Election] Member parties include the People's Party (PP), People's Rally of Burundi (RPB), National Union of Burundi (UNB), Union for Hutu Promotion (UPROHUTU), and the Voice of the Murundi People (VPM).
*No political party acronym is available.
 
Election Results
 
 
Presidential
--Multiparty: 1993, 2010
--Single Party: 1984
Legislative
--Senate: 1965, 2005, 2010
--National Assembly
----Multiparty: 1961, 1965, 1993, 2005, 2010
----Single Party: 1982
Referenda: 1981, 1991, 1992, 2005
Communal: 1960, 2005, 2010
 
 
18 September 1961 Legislative Assembly Election

Registered Voters

1,058,653

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

   783,027 (74.0%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

       8,144

Total Valid Votes

   774,883

Party/[Coalition] Number of Votes % of Votes Number of Seats (64)
Union for National Progress (UPRONA) 627,453 80.97% 58
Common Front [FC] 138,406 17.86% 6
Association of the Middle Classes, Clerks, and Intellectuals of Burundi (ACCEB) 3,470 0.45% -
Union of People's Parties [UPP] 2,452 0.32% -
African National Union of Ruanda-Urundi (UNARU) 1,641 0.21% -
Burundi People* 1,461 0.19% -
*Translation of Burundi Populaire. No party acronym is available. 
 
10 May 1965 National Assembly Election

Registered Voters

1,300,000 (approx.)

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

Not Available (N/A)

Party Number of Seats (33)
Union for National Progress (UPRONA) 21
People's Party (PP) 10
Independents 2
 
Single Party Elections
Sole Legal Party: Union for National Progress (UPRONA)
18 November 1981 Constitutional Referendum
Main Points: Presidential Republic, Sole Legal Party, Unicameral Legislature

Registered Voters

1,702,623

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

1,604,722 (94.3%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

     10,939

Total Valid Votes

1,593,783

"Yes" Votes

1,582,244 (99.28%)

"No" Votes

     11,539   (0.72%)

22 October 1982 National Assembly Election (65 Seats; 52 directly-elected & 13 appointed by the President)
31 August 1984 Presidential Election (Jean-Baptiste Bagaza elected unopposed with 99.63% of the vote)
 
9 February 1991 "Charter of National Unity" Referendum
Description: The Charter of National Unity was intended to formally abolish ethnic discrimination and to permit the creation of a new constitution to further the democratization process.

Registered Voters

2,186,591

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

2,103,938 (96.2%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

     13,163

Total Valid Votes

2,090,775

Results Number of Votes % of Votes
"Yes" Votes 1,876,958 89.77%
"No" Votes 213,817 10.23%
 
9 March 1992 Constitutional Referendum
Main Points: Multiparty System; 5-year presidential term, renewable once; proportional representation.

Registered Voters

2,287,554

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

2,218,449 (97.0%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

       2,753

Total Valid Votes

2,215,696

Results Number of Votes % of Votes
"Yes" Votes 2,003,411 90.42%
"No" Votes 212,285 9.58%
 
1 June 1993 Presidential Election

Registered Voters

2,355,126

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

2,291,746 (97.3%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

     32,410

Total Valid Votes

2,259,336

Candidate (Party) Number of Votes % of Votes
Melchior Ndadaye (FRODEBU)* 1,483,904 65.68%
Pierre Buyoya (UPRONA)** 742,360 32.86%
Pierre-Claver Sendegeya (PRP) 33,072 1.46%
*FRODEBU candidate Melchior Ndadaye was also supported by the People's Party (PP), Liberal Party (PL), and the Rally for the People of Burundi (RPB).
**UPRONA candidate Pierre Buyoya was also supported by the Rally for Democracy and Economic and Social Development (RADDES).
 
29 June 1993 National Assembly Election

Registered Voters

2,360,090

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

2,156,659 (91.4%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

     44,474

Total Valid Votes

2,112,185

Party Number of Votes % of Votes Number of Seats (81)
Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU) 1,532,107 72.54% 65
Union for National Progress (UPRONA) 462,324 21.89% 16
Rally for the People of Burundi (RPB) 35,932 1.70% -
People's Reconciliation Party (PRP) 29,966 1.42% -
Rally for Democracy and Economic and Social Development (RADDES) 26,631 1.26% -
People's Party (PP) 24,372 1.15% -
Independents 853 0.04% -
 
28 February 2005 Constitutional Referendum
Main Points: Power sharing between the two main ethnic groups, Government Institutions would be 60% Hutu and 40% Tutsi, except for the National Defense Forces and Senate where the ratio is to be 50%-50%.

Registered Voters

3,132,494

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

2,894,372 (92.4%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

     60,285

Total Valid Votes

2,834,087

Results Number of Votes % of Votes
"Yes" Votes 2,607,852 92.02%
"No" Votes 226,235 7.98%
 
4 July 2005 National Assembly Election

Registered Voters

3,167,124

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

2,446,001 (77.2%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

     24,575

Total Valid Votes

2,421,426

Party Number of Votes % of Votes Number of Seats 100 (118)*
National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) 1,417,800 58.55% 59 (64)
Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU) 525,336 21.70% 25 (30)
Union for National Progress (UPRONA) 174,575 7.21% 10 (15)
National Council for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD) 100,366 4.14% 4 (4)
Movement for the Rehabilitation of Citizens-Rurenzangemero
(MRC-Rurenzangemero)		 51,730 2.14% 2 (2)
Party for National Recovery (PARENA) 42,223 1.74% - (-)
Independents & Others 109,396 4.51% - (-)
Seats reserved for ethnic Twa members - - - (3)
*100 seats were filled based on the election results; The remaining 18 seats were allocated based on the constitutional requirement that 60% of seats are filled by ethnic Hutus, 40% by ethnic Tutsis, 30% by Women, and 3 by ethnic Twa. Figures in parentheses reflect the distribution of seats after these requirements were met.
 
28 June 2010 Presidential Election*/**

Registered Voters

3,550,000 (approx.)

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

2,739,136 (approx. 77%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

     29,195

Total Valid Votes

2,709,941

Candidate (Party) Number of Votes % of Votes
Pierre Nkurunziza (CNDD-FDD) 2,482,219 91.60%
Against 227,722 8.40%
*On 1 June 2010, five of the six opposition parties that had previously indicated indicated that they would contest the presidential election announced that they would boycott the election. The remaining candidate later withdrew, leaving only Nkurunziza to contest the election.
**No registered voter figure was included in the consitutional court's official declaration of results.
 
23 July 2010 National Assembly Election*

Registered Voters

3,550,000 (approx.)

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

Not Available (N/A)

Party Number of Seats
100 (106)**
National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) 80 (81)
Union for National Progress (UPRONA) 16 (17)
Front for Democracy in Burundi-Nyakuri (FRODEBU-Nyakuri) 4 (5)
Seats reserved for ethnic Twa members - (3)
*Most of the opposition parties that boycotted the June presidential election did not participate in the National Assembly election.
**100 seats were filled based on the election results; The remaining six seats were allocated based on the constitutional requirement that 60% of seats are filled by ethnic Hutus, 40% by ethnic Tutsis, 30% by Women, and 3 by ethnic Twa. Figures in parentheses reflect the distribution of seats after these requirements were met.