The National Assembly is the lower chamber of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Gr ...

. It consists of 100 directly elected members (or deputies) and between 18 and 23 co-opted members who serve five-year terms. Deputies are elected in 17 multi-member

constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

using a

party-list proportional representation Party-list proportional representation (list-PR) is a subset of proportional representation electoral systems in which multiple candidates are elected (e.g., elections to parliament) through their position on an electoral list. They can also be u ...

system in accordance with the

D'Hondt method The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highes ...

. Political parties and lists of independent candidates must receive over 2% of the vote nationally to gain representation in the National Assembly.

History

As a country that has been devastated by

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

and persistent ethnic violence since its independence in 1962, Burundi's new constitution (approved in a February 2005 referendum) requires that 60% of the deputies be from the

Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the p ...

ethnic group, while the remaining 40% come from the

Tutsi The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic g ...

ethnic group. In addition, three co-opted members represent the Twa ethnic group. Women must occupy at least 30% of the seats in the National Assembly.

Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operat ...

s to the National Assembly took place on 4 July 2005. The National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) won 59 of the 100 seats filled through direct election. The Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU), who won a majority of seats in the previous

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operat ...

held in 1993, won 25 seats. The

Union for National Progress The Union for National Progress (french: Union pour le Progrès national, UPRONA) is a nationalist political party in Burundi. It initially emerged as a nationalist united front in opposition to Belgian colonial rule but subsequently became an i ...

(UPRONA) won 10, while the

National Council for the Defense of Democracy The National Council for the Defense of Democracy (, CNDD) is a political party in Burundi. History The CNDD was established in Zaire on 24 September 1994 and was initially led by Léonard Nyangoma. The party also established an armed wing, the ...

(CNDD), a breakaway faction of the CNDD-FDD, won 4. The small, predominantly Tutsi

Movement for the Rehabilitation of Citizens-Rurenzangemero Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

(MRC-Rurenzangemero), won the remaining 2 seats. An additional 18 members were co-opted to meet the required ethnic and gender quotas.

Immaculée Nahayo Immaculée Nahayo Nyandwi (1948 - 17 November 2018) was a Burundian politician who was President of the National Assembly of Burundi from 16 August 2005 to 2007, the first woman to hold this position in Burundi. She was also elected as Speaker of ...

, an ethnic Hutu member of the CNDD-FDD, was elected president of the National Assembly on 16 August 2005. On 19 August 2005, the National Assembly and Senate Assembly (acting as an Electoral College) elected Pierre Nkurunziza

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the republic. He took office on 26 August 2005.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 3.3598, S, 29.3730, E, source:wikidata, display=title 1962 establishments in Burundi Government of Burundi

History

See also

References

External links