As a country that has been devastated by
civil war 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 ethnic group, while the remaining 40% come from the
Tutsi 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.
Elections 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 held in 1993, won 25 seats. The
Union for National Progress (UPRONA) won 10, while the
National Council for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD), a breakaway faction of the CNDD-FDD, won 4. The small, predominantly Tutsi
Movement for the Rehabilitation of Citizens-Rurenzangemero (MRC-Rurenzangemero), won the remaining 2 seats. An additional 18 members were co-opted to meet the required ethnic and gender
quotas.
Immaculée Nahayo, 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 of the republic. He took office on 26 August 2005. ==See also==