BUJUMBURA July 9th (ABP) – The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), Mr. Pierre-Claver Kazihise hosted on
Wednesday July 8, 2020 in Bujumbura, a press conference to give a reminder on the state of advancement of the process of the election of senators, the election of village or neighborhood councilors, which are also important for the life of the Burundian nation, after the presidential and legislative elections of May 20.
Concerning the election of senators, Mr. Kazihise said that the related election campaign began on June 27, following a presidential decree of June 25 opening and closing the campaign which will last until July 17. He recalled that the election campaign must respect all the legal and regulatory provisions in force.
It’s about starting the campaign at 6 a.m. and ending it at 6 p.m., campaigning through messages, speeches, posters, meetings and other means of communication. The campaign is subject to respect for public order and election meetings must be declared to the communal administrative authority, said the CENI Chairman, before announcing that insults and defamation are prohibited, as well as donations in money or in kind as well as the use of public goods. The senatorial campaign is also prohibited in schools and universities, as well as in the workplace, during working hours, according to the CENI Chairman.
Concerning the candidates for the senatorial election to be held on July 20, 2020, Mr. Kazihise clarified that those are two candidates per province, from political parties, namely the CNDD-FDD (National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy) and the CNL (National Congress for Freedom) in all provinces, adding that each candidate has three alternates. They are also two candidates per constituency in eight provinces from the UPRONA party, with their alternates, two candidates of the APDR party with their alternates in the Bujumbura City Council, two candidates of the Sangwe-PADER party with their alternates in Karusi province (central-eastern of Burundi) and an independent candidate in Bururi province (south-western). “Two senators elected by province will join the senatorial institution, as well as three other senators from the Twa ethnic group who will be co-opted,” added Mr. Kazihise, recalling that those two senators will be elected by the electoral college of communal councilors in each province.
For the election of the councilors of villages or neighborhoods, the CENI is currently at the stage of analysis of the candidacies, said Mr. Kazihise, who signals that the lists of the candidates selected will be published by the independent communal electoral commissions (CECI), by July 17, 2020.
Unlike the other elections, the CENI Chairman pointed out that all the candidate councilors of villages or neighborhoods stand in an independent capacity. He recalled that all candidates must be of Burundian nationality, live on the village or in the neighborhood and should be at least 25 years old at the time of the election and be honest with those around them.
To the village councilor candidates who have already started the election campaign when their candidacies are not yet validated, the CENI asks to stop and remove all the posters they have stuck in their neighborhoods, pending the presidential decree which will give all the details relating to it.