Outstanding issues to be tackled, speaker says

The speaker of Burundi’s national assembly, Leonce Ngendakumana, has said the new transitional government will comprise 26 ministers, and only those who wanted to take part would do so. Speaking on his return from Arusha, not all Burundians would join the government. “In a democracy, it is feasible that some signatories will not join the government,” he said, according to Burundi radio. “There are people who always remain in the opposition to put pressure on the government, so that the government can move forward.”

He said the issue of the transitional leadership had been solved, but that of the ceasefire, the repatriation of refugees, the resettlement of those who fled their homes due to the war, the issue of rehabilitating and uniting the country and planning for a better future still remained. “Therefore, this means that we are now ready to tackle the main national questions now that we have a president and his deputy,” he said.