Inter-Burundi Dialogue: Burundi Parliament asks CNDI to get in touch with Mkapa

Internal dialogue is nearing completion and another dialogue, the Arusha dialogue, continues under the aegis of the Mkapa facilitator for Burundians who feel that their security is not guaranteed in Burundi. According to Reverien Ndikuriyo, President of the Burundian Senate, there should be no overlap between the two. It was Thursday, March 9, 2017, at the closing workshop of the National Commission for Inter-Burundian Dialogue (CNDI), to which members of both Houses of Parliament were invited.

It seems like you are working on your own side as you work for the same nation and people, “Ndikuriyo said. Arusha, he says, has its own program. He wondered whether it was necessary to discuss with Mkapa’s facilitation on the agenda of discussions in the interests of harmonizing the content with the wishes of the population.

Reverien Ndikuriyo, referring to the sovereignty of the people, fears the refusal of the population to apply closures that would emerge from the dialogue of Arusha in case the latter does not reflect his will. The president of the senate suggested to the CNDI to go and speak with the facilitator Benjamin Mkapa in order to avoid the overlap in the implementation of the closures resulting from the two dialogues. This, Senator ReverienNdikuriyo continued, will enable decisions to be made that respond to the aspirations of the people in their diversity.

Democracy as a pillar of lasting peace

With regard to the constitution, Mr Nyabenda asked that this fundamental law be revisited. With regard to the presidential mandates, the chairman of the assembly asked for a debate which would make it possible to lift the limitation of mandates. The constitution should allow the outgoing president to represent himself provided that there is alternation after two terms.

Strong political parties around a clear society project
For Agathon Rwasa the mandates, the presidential mandates must be limited to two in order to guarantee the equitable sharing of power. In terms of elections in perspective the deputy Rwasa demands the opening of the political space for all for a balanced competition. According to him, the number of political parties in Burundi is another challenge. He finds that there is not as much of a society project as there is so much of a party. He proposes that the list of these parties be reduced in order to constitute strong political parties with a clear society project capable of validly representing different political opinions and thoughts.

It should be noted that this cession of the dialogue organized for parliamentarians was the last one, after the committee had traveled all the provinces and municipalities of the country. The CNDI met with representatives of all layers of Burundian society in its journey with the aim of finding the way out of the violence that has always characterized the electoral periods in Burundi since the years of independence.