Burundi: EISA evaluation of the legislative election of July 4, 2005 (continued)
The turnout
From the beginning of the election day it was apparent that contrary to the two previous elections (Constitutional and Communal) voters were not rushing to the polling stations. Indeed, voters seldom queued for this Legislative vote. Instead they arrived continuously with most of them voting between 11h00 or 12h00 and 16h00. Actually, the general turnout of 76.63% is even a relief as in some individual voting stations the turnout was as low as 35%, which did not happen in the Communal and the Constitutional votes. However, this turnout is regarded as very good taking into consideration the political climate that prevailed before the vote and the fact that this was the third time the voters were called to vote in four months (i.e. between February 28 and July 4).
The results
The Electoral Law requires a minimum of 2% nationwide for a political party to enter the National Assembly. Only 5 political parties out of the 26 that participated in the election were able to get that mark. The results were as follows:
| Party | Votes | % Votes | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNDD-FDD | 1 410 244 | 58.30 | 59 |
| FRODEBU | 524 238 | 21.68 | 24 |
| UPRONA | 173 438 | 7.13 | 10 |
| CNDD | 106 911 | 4.42 | 5 |
| MRC | 51 851 | 2.14 | 2 |
| Others | 152 280 | 6.33 | 0 |
| Total | 2 418 962 | 100.04 | 100 |
The observation
Many Organizations had deployed Observers in these elections. The European Union deployed 80 Observers; the African Union 20 Observers; the Diplomatic Body in Burundi deployed 150; the Congolese Civil Society working together with Christian Aid deployed 18; the Coalition of the civil society (COSOME) deployed 900 Observers, not to mention Observers from other organizations such as CNEB (Conseil National des Eglises du Burundi) and a few others.
The opinion of all the Electoral Observers who observed the Legislative election is that the election was free, fair and transparent. Some of the Observers like the European Unions Observers issued a communiqué praising altogether the CENI, the voters and the Government of Burundi for the quality of work and the discipline attested. The coalition COSOME has issued declaration in the same sense. All the Observers also agree that the irregularities that took place were far from altering the results of the vote and that, therefore, the outcome of the election reflects the will of the Burundian voters and should be accepted by all.
In their communiqué the EU Observers went farther, suggesting that in the light of the irregularities that were observed and the political climate in which the vote took place, including the quarrel about the alleged intimidation of voters, Burundians would be well advised to consider the single ballot paper mode in the future.