Parliamentary elections were held in

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

on 10 May 1965, the first since independence in 1962. Voters elected the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

, which had been reduced from 64 to 33 seats. They followed the assassination of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Pierre Ngendandumwe Pierre Ngendandumwe (1930 – 15 January 1965) was a Burundian politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Burundi in two terms, first from 1963 to 1964 and second for only eight days in January 1965. An ethnic Hutu, he was a me ...

on 15 January 1965, and were won by the ruling

Union for National Progress The Union for National Progress (, UPRONA) is a nationalist political party in Burundi. Initially it emerged as a nationalist united front in opposition to Belgian colonial rule but subsequently became an integral part of the one-party state esta ...

Background

On January 15, 1965, Burundian Prime Minister

was assassinated. In response, Mwami Mwambutsa IV dissolved Parliament on March 4 and called for new elections. New elections were declared on March 29 and were held on May 10.

Results

National Assembly

Senate

Following the National Assembly elections, the 16-member Senate was filled. Eight members of the Senate were elected by the members of the National Assembly—each representing one of the county's provinces. The eight Senate members elected a further four members, with a further four appointed by the King. UPRONA held eight of the 12 seats.

Aftermath

Despite the decisive victory by Hutu candidates in the election, King Mwambutsa IV appointed a Tutsi prince,

Léopold Biha Léopold Bihumugani (1919–2003), better known as Léopold Biha, was a Burundian politician who served as Prime Minister of Burundi from 13 September 1965 until 8 July 1966. An ethnic Ganwa born to a chief in Ruanda-Urundi, he became a close con ...

, as Prime Minister. Tensions finally erupted into violence following an attempted coup by Hutu army officers in October 1965. The failed coup was followed by a major purge of Hutus in the armed forces. Hutu politicians and civilians were also killed. The following year Mwambutsa was overthrown by his son

Ntare V Ntare V of Burundi (born Charles Ndizeye; 2 December 1947 – 29 April 1972), less commonly numbered Ntare III, was the last king (''mwami'') of Burundi, reigning from July to November 1966. Until his accession, he was known as Crown Prince Char ...

, who was deposed in a

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

later in the year, ending the country's monarchy.

References

Works cited

* * * * {{Burundian elections Parliamentary elections in Burundi

Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Election and referendum articles with incomplete results