Constitutional gridlock creates doubt about elections

Burundian President Domitien Ndayizeye withdrew on Wednesday his request for the Constitutional Court to validate a draft constitution, saying that the court had delayed its decision beyond the time required. "The court's deliberation period ended without it having even met," Ndayizeye said in the capital, Bujumbura. Without a constitution, the electoral commission has been unable to release an election timetable. According to the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Accord of August 2000, under which the country's three-year transitional government was established, democratic elections should be held by 31 October when the transitional period ends. Hundreds of Burundians have started fleeing the country because of the escalating fear of violence if elections are not held on time. In a meeting with military leaders in Bujumbura on Thursday, Ndayizeye said he withdrew the request in order to allow the electoral process to continue its normal course. He said under Article 22 of the law, the court had 15 days to decide whether or not the draft constitution was consistent with the Arusha accord. He had sent the draft to the court on 21 September and asked it to act quickly. Tustsi-dominated parties, which oppose the draft constitution, say Ndayizeye had misinterpreted Article 22. "The 15 days does not apply," said Jean Baptiste Manwangari, the chairman of the Party pour le progress national (UPRONA). In a statement released on Wednesday, UPRONA and other Tutsi-dominated parties urged the court to continue its deliberations on the draft constitution. The parties have also drafted an alternative constitution. Manwangari said as long as the court had not approved the constitution, the government could hold a referendum on it. And as long as a referendum had not taken place, the country could not hold elections.