Towards the end of a limitation on the number of presidential mandates

[Rwanda]

Towards the end of a limitation on the number of presidential mandates

In Burundi, while the talks organised under the auspices of the former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa seem to be at a standstill, the authorities are organizing for eight months their own dialogue to the interior of the country. These consultations are carried out by the National Commission for inter-Burundi Dialogue, an organ censured by the opposition and civil society. The cndi just convey to President Pierre Nkurunziza a “progress report” where are its main tracks of reforms.
The main suggestion of the National Commission for inter-Burundi dialogue regarding a possible revision of the Constitution: “the vast majority of the participants want the president of the republic can exercise more than two mandates”.
Let us remember that there has already been attempts in this direction in the past. And that’s the decision of president nkurunziza run for a third mandate that triggered the crisis in the country for more than a year.
Second important point: the participants want “that the constitution bounty on the arusha agreement”. the arusha agreement is the text which put an end to a decade of civil war in burundi. It sets to two the number of presidential mandates, but he can’t be amandé. And he has introduced ethnic quotas in the army and the police.
” we spoke of the hutus and tutsis, percentages. We’re gonna keep it till when? We saw 60 % of the hutus, 40 % of the tutsis. And we forgot the batwa “, advance monsignor Justin Nzoyisaba, President of the cndi.
Break up with this balance that would be to open the door to genocide according to Charles Nditidje, chairman of the opposition party uprona party. The opponent also takes strong exception to the proposal to reform the law on political parties to ” eliminate ” those who don’t ” represent nothing ” and ” that cause chaos “.
The cndi decried this internal dialogue is organized by the cndi, an organ strongly discredited, because for the moment it does not include the majority of the opposition and civil society independent who lives in exile. Those who remain boycotted as for them this dialogue, judging that it is “a masquerade organized by the power” and that the commission is gained in power.
” we have found that people who dared to say the opposite of what had been pre-programmed by the power of nkurunziza, we don’t give them the floor. So it was a montage of any room “, believes Charles Nditidje, chairman of the opposition party uprona party.
For the moment the tanzanian facilitation has not set a date for the next stage of the talks. Benjamin Mkapa shall submit its report to the heads of state of the sub-region at a summit of the East African community on 11 September.