Committee to propose extension of political transition, UN envoy says

The Implementation and Monitoring Committee (IMC) of the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Accord - under which Burundi's transitional government was established - will make proposals to the government on a possible extension of the three-year transitional period that ends on 31 October, a UN official said on Thursday. The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to Burundi and IMC chairwoman, Carolyn McAskie, said the IMC would first discuss the proposals before forwarding them to the government. McAskie, who opened the IMC's 21st session in the capital, Bujumbura, said the proposals would focus "on how to manage a possible extension of the transitional period to prepare the elections and pending political negotiations". Burundi's National Assembly and Senate voted on 17 September to draft a post-transition constitution. However, the main Tutsi-dominated political party, the Union pour le progrès national (UPRONA), and several other parties allied to it, took the matter before the constitutional court seeking to have the vote invalidated. They alleged the vote was in violation of the Arusha accord. UPRONA was among several parties that refused to sign a post-transition power-sharing agreement reached on 6 August by 20 Burundian parties in Pretoria, South Africa. The IMC considers the adoption of the post-transition constitution an important step forward in the country's peace process but admits that some issues remain unsettled. "Will the constitution be voted before the 31 October and, if not, what are the alternatives?" McAskie said. She said the transformation of former-armed movements into political parties was another major challenge. So far, five former rebel movements, including the larger faction of the Conseil national pour la défense de la democratie-Forces pour la défense de la democratie (CNDD-FDD), led by Pierre Nkurunziza, are yet to be registered as political parties. During the two-day session, the IMC is due to discuss a document detailing the challenges and activities to be carried out in order to bolster the peace process. Included in the document are issues relating to ceasefire accords between the government and former armed movements; the country's demobilisation programme; the electoral process; repatriation of refugees; as well as prisoners and their detention conditions. The IMC is also scheduled to discuss a report by the country's electoral commission on the election timetable. The commission is expected to make the report public this week.