Civil society meeting proposes post-Arusha set-up

Groups from Burundi's civil society have recommended among other things that the country's transitional government should not last for more than three years. After a two-day socio-political workshop held in Bururi district, southern Burundi, for civil society and religious organisations from Bururi, Makamba and Rutana, delegates recommended that the president of the transitional government and members of the assembly be elected by a higher council of traditional elders, Burundi news agency ABP reported. The meeting, organised by the Association for the Promotion of Disadvantaged Groups (APDG) and the ministry in charge of the peace process, was aimed at collecting governance proposals with which people could identify from all levels of society. Delegates also suggested that the transitional president should be elected by "universal suffrage" while members of the national assembly should be elected from registered political parties, ABP added.