Last obstacle to new President Nkurunziza term voted aside

Burundi Cabinet ministers celebrate their country’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court on October 28, 2017. The Constitution has been at the centre of the political crisis since 2015, with presidential term limits being a major sticking point.  PHOTO | AFP 

In Summary

• Assuming the amendment sails through next year, President Nkurunziza can start the first of a potential two terms in office during the next election in 2020 because the changes cannot apply retrospectively to take into account his three terms in office so far.
• Opposition leaders, however, say it is evident that the president is merely preparing the way to allow him to contest in the 2020 presidential election.
• The Constitution has been at the centre of the political crisis since 2015, with presidential term limits being a major sticking point.

By MOSES HAVYARIMANA
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Burundi has opened the door for President Pierre Nkurunziza to stay in office for longer than his current term after a commission he appointed earlier this year to look into the Constitution said its draft report was ready.

Apart from recommending that elections be held after seven years instead of five, the draft also says the president can serve for as many terms as possible but not more than two consecutively. The draft could be presented to the president this month, paving the way for amendment of the Constitution early next year.

“We are proposing that the presidential term should be changed from five to seven years because this will give the serving president enough time to deliver,” a source close to the commission told The EastAfrican.

In the new draft constitution the president will not serve consecutively for more than two terms but can seek office immediately after being out of office for one term.

Assuming the amendment sails through next year, President Nkurunziza can start the first of a potential two terms in office during the next election in 2020 because the changes cannot apply retrospectively to take into account his three terms in office so far.

Among the articles that will be amended is Article 96 that limits a president to two terms in the office.

Article 96 also says the president is elected by universal suffrage for a term of five years renewable once.

Calls for amendments to the Constitution came after the 15-member Burundi National Dialogue Commission sent the report to parliament, indicating that Burundians had asked for the Constitution to be amended.

READ: Nkurunziza govt backs term limit changes

Opposition leaders, however, say it is evident that the president is merely preparing the way to allow him to contest in the 2020 presidential election.

“I do not think this is the will of all Burundians because the ruling party just wants to keep themselves in power,” said Burundi opposition leader and Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Agathon Rwasa.

The Constitution has been at the centre of the political crisis since 2015, with presidential term limits being a major sticking point.

Burundi last amended its Constitution in 2005 when President Nkurunziza took office after the transitional government that was led by Domitien Ndayizeye.

The Constitution based on the 2000 Arusha Agreement was interpreted in various ways by political players until the country’s highest court ruled that President Nkurunziza could run for a third term because his first one in 2005 was by a parliamentary vote rather than universal suffrage.

Violent protests erupted as he went on to win amid allegations of human rights violations and a clampdown on opponents and civil society including the media.

READ: Burundi pulls out of ICC amid justice concerns for crime victims

Former Burundi president Sylvestre Ntibantunganya says it is not the right time for the country to amend the Constitution and has asked political stakeholders to resolve their differences through an inclusive dialogue.

“It will be important for all the actors who were in the Arusha negotiations to be included in the amendment so that it can be inclusive,” said the former head of state.

If the amendments sail through as expected, Burundi will become the latest East African country to tweak its term limit provisions in favour of incumbents.

The commission that was set to amend the country’s constitution mandate ended in September and renewed by two months. The commission has until mid this month to deliver and resend the draft proposal to the Council of Ministers to be approved.

Uniform thinking in region?
In Uganda President Museveni backed removal of age limits that would bar him from contesting in 2020, years after removing term limits.
In Rwanda, the start date for the two-term limit was pushed to 2024 after which the presidential term would be shortened from seven to five years. The changes mean President Kagame, who has led Rwanda for 23 years, could remain in office until 2034.
Meanwhile, discussions in Tanzania have recently focused on increasing the presidential term from five to seven years which would lengthen President John Magufuli’s term in office.