Government outlines transition period

The government has unveiled a “plan for society”, detailing the country’s future institutions which will oversee the transition, referred to as the “period of stabilisation”, Burundi’s Netpress news agency reported. During this period, the plan envisages a democracy “based on consensus” and the national assembly will be enlarged to include the groups taking part in the Arusha peace process which are currently not represented in parliament. There will also be a Senate whose composition will be “ethnically and regionally balanced”, Netpress said. The transition will last 10 years, with the current president Pierre Buyoya remaining in power for five years before handing over to a Hutu leader for the next five years.