BUJUMBURA June 20th (ABP) – The Independent National Election Commission (CENI) is preparing its contribution to the development of the legal framework for the 2025-2027 elections. It is in the process of reflecting on the amendments to be made to the current election law and the proposals which will be transmitted to the competent authorities.
CENI Chairman Dr. Pierre Claver Kazihise said so on Monday June 19, 2023 during a press briefing.
The election law to which the CENI referred to organize the last general elections of 2020 was organic law N° 1/11 of May 20, 2019 amending law N° 1/20 of June 3, 2014 on the Election Code.
The Chair of the CENI pointed out that on the one hand, the conditions for implementing the provisions of that law have proven to be variable, specifying that for the most part, those conditions were easy, but that certain provisions were less so.
On the other hand, he said, the CENI wishes to implement the various recommendations that were made by the election partners, during the evaluation of the 2020 election process.
The proposals to amend certain provisions of the current election law are also motivated by the new organic law N° 1/05 of March 16, 2023, determining and delimiting the provinces, communes, zones, villages and neighborhoods of the Republic of Burundi, which has just been enacted.
The other activities planned at the CENI to better prepare for the 2025-2027 elections are related to the preparation of electoral mapping, the training and capacity building of CENI experts, the planning of activities for the election year, cleaning up the election climate through education and sensitization of the people.
According to the chairman of the CENI, mapping is an essential tool, prior to the implementation of election operations, especially since the data available to the CENI correspond to the former administrative boundaries of the country.
Dr. Kazihise also notes that the organization of elections requires technically capable and psychologically prepared personnel.
The CENI aims to hold peaceful elections, in an environment of serenity, where all voters feel free to make their choice without any pressure, while respecting the rights of each other.
Thus, the CENI will conduct democracy education sessions, especially for the youngest who will vote for the first time. All the activities and their period of implementation will be listed and recorded in a program, for a good preparation of the elections of 2025-2027, the CENI chairman said.