BUJUMBURA June 3rd (ABP) – After 30 years of existence of the Sahwanya – FRODEBU party in Burundi and 29 years after its victory in the general elections, the said party organized on June 2, 2022 in Bujumbura, a press conference to assess the state of play and the well-being of the people of Burundi.
The leader of the Sahwanya-FRODEBU party, Mr. Pierre Claver Nahimana, first recalled that in 1993, the Sahwanya-FRODEBU party and its leader Melchior Ndadaye, who later became a national hero of democracy, called on the people of Burundi to “vote for the coming of democracy in Burundi, the multiparty system, respect for human rights, national reconciliation, as well as the integral development of the Burundian nation and the people of Burundi. That politician did not fail to point out that on June 1, 1993, the Sahwanya-FRODEBU party under the leadership of President Melchior Ndadaye won the democratic presidential elections and since then, democracy in Burundi has made its way.
According to Nahimana, the Sahwanya-FRODEBU party has taken the option since the time of naming the months of June and July “months dedicated to democracy in Burundi.” This period is therefore a favorable opportunity for the party to assess the step taken by the party and by the nation in relation to the initial objectives, in terms of democracy and the well-being of the people of Burundi, to set objectives for the future and to make recommendations to the government and the people of Burundi who have the destiny of the country in their hands.
The leader of the Sahwanya-FRODEBU party indicated that during this 30-year period which has just elapsed, the observation in terms of achievements is that the principles, options, orientations as well as the objectives formulated by FRODEBU since its inception are currently an integral part of the constitution of the Republic of Burundi of June 2018. According to him, these are “constitutional principles” for national reconciliation and the peaceful coexistence of the various components of the Burundian nation, democracy and good governance, the fundamental human rights and public freedoms. The multiparty system and elections, the depoliticization of the administration, the reorganization of the defense and security forces as well as the independence of the Burundian judiciary and others result from this democracy.
In the same framework, the Sahwanya-FRODEBU party was able to achieve certain achievements in relation to its political program. He cited the inception of civil society organizations and media, the reorganization or reform of the defense and security corps to make them representative of all ethnic, regional and gender components, the reorganization of the judiciary to make it representative of all ethnic, regional and gender components, the establishment of the law distinguishing between political and technical positions.
Despite 30 years after the arrival of democracy in Burundi, the Sahwanya-FRODEBU party regrets that Burundians do not know the democratic system which governs them and which is enshrined in the constitution, for the simple reason that the latter is not accessible as well as members of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary and a few specialists in the field. According to Mr. Nahimana, the ordinary citizen lives in ignorance of the relevant provisions of the fundamental law, from which emanate all the other laws which govern his/her daily life.
He took the opportunity to recommend to the government of Burundi to popularize the constitution and its legal and regulatory implementing texts among the population, and to set up effective bodies to monitor the application of the constitution and its implementing texts, put in place effective bodies for the arbitration of conflict related to the interpretation of the constitution. It is also an opportunity to ask for the establishment of functional and operational mechanisms allowing citizens to resort to justice in the event of a manifest violation of the constitution.