Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy

Foundations laid for a stable multiparty system that guarantees dialogue as a peaceful means to solve political conflict

In 2008, Burundi experienced another turbulent year in the functioning of its multiparty system. After opposition parties and renegade CNDD-FDD members had withdrawn their cooperation with the ruling party in 2007, the CNDD-FDD in 2008 decided to break the parliamentary paralysis. Upon its instigation Burundi’s Constitutional Court in June ruled that all renegade parliamentarians were to be replaced by CNDD-FDD loyalists. This brought the parliamentary machinery back into operation and rendered opposition parties more dependent on multiparty dialogue again. However, the radical, and too many biased, decision of the Court also further distorted political relations. The strong antagonistic environment that followed has made ruling and opposition parties wary of each other. All seem interested to work together only in as far as it enhances their own direct power.  

Against the backdrop of these mutual resentments, the ruling party seems to have the best tools for frustrating its opponents. Both during and after the parliament’s deadlock-period, intimidation of the opposition increased, as some opposition members felt victim to violent attacks. The leader of one newly established party was jailed in late 2008 after having been charged for insulting the president.  

This bitter context gave the multiparty system only very little and scattered momentum in which dialogue proved fruitful. Every time when parties were gruntingly forced to search for common solutions, tricks such as the Court’s June ruling were played that led both sides to soon withdraw their pledged commitment to solving political conflict.  

Consensus on how to deal with the challenges that face the nation and identify commonly shared priorities

In 2006 and 2007, attempts to get all Burundian political parties enter into joint consultations had failed, after ruling party CNDD-FDD had at the second instance withdrawn its cooperation. As the general elections (foreseen for 2010) approach quickly and the political climate became tenser, the need to touch base again with the Burundian parties and other stakeholders was considered urgent in 2008. Since March 2008 NIMD has therefore intensified its contacts with the five political parties represented in parliament in Burundi. NIMD sought to gain their commitment to a structural multiparty dialogue aimed at reaching consensus on a number of issues of common interest. Through various meetings with political party leaders in Brussels and Bujumbura, NIMD prepared the ground for a first dialogue meeting with the five parliamentary parties.  

The first three-day multiparty workshop in September 2008, facilitated by NIMD and its partner the Burundi Leadership Training Programme (BLTP), constituted an important and promising first step in a strenuous dialogue process. The five political parties represented in parliament agreed on the principle to create a permanent platform for dialogue. Moreover, during the workshop in the northern town Ngozi, the party leaders also agreed to discuss matters related to the electoral law, the political parties’ law, the constitution, the code of conduct and the law on decentralization within the framework of this platform for dialogue. All parties were represented at the level of party presidents, vice-presidents and/or secretary-generals. The second multiparty workshop, held in November, was to specify a number of sub-themes and an agenda for dialogue until the 2010 parliamentary elections. However, the ruling party did not show up, and a discussion on earlier proposed themes and concrete activities could not take place. In the absence of the ruling party, consensus could not yet be reached on the institutional set-up of the platform for dialogue either.

All in all, in late 2008 NIMD and its partner the BLTP grasped the opportunity for political dialogue that occurred. Despite the ruling party’s initial hesitance, an opening was created that allowed room for dialogue and consultation. The five parliamentary parties identified shared priorities and reaffirmed their willingness to discuss these issues within the framework of a platform for dialogue to be facilitated by the NIMD. The first steps towards a shared agenda for dialogue and political reform were thus taken.  


Constructive and future-oriented approach among all parties taking part in the dialogue

In 2008, Burundi continued to go through a severe political crisis that could compromise its stability and the holding of free and fair elections in 2010. In general, the political parties did not adopt the constructive and future-oriented that is much needed to overcome the current political deadlock. However, NIMD did prepare the ground for a platform for dialogue aimed to give the parliamentary parties in Burundi the opportunity to engage in a constructive, non-confrontational and future-oriented dialogue and to search for consensus on how to deal with the challenges the country faces. The first meetings in 2008 mainly served to create mutual trust and understanding between the participants and the NIMD, and to find a consensus on the issues to be dealt with.

From the start, the four opposition parties, Frodebu, Uprona, CNDD and MRC have been very eager to participate in a political dialogue facilitated by the NIMD. The ruling party CNDD-FDD, on the contrary, seems inconsistent in engaging in a constructive dialogue with the other political parties represented in parliament. Whereas the party’s leadership at several occasions formally reaffirmed its willingness to cooperate with the NIMD, in practice the CNDD-FDD’s commitment varied considerably. Since the ruling party’s constructive participation during the first multiparty workshop in September, a tendency to postpone decisions, to not show up at meetings, and to create confusion prevailed. This lack of unambiguous engagement from the side of the ruling party could be due to a lack of understanding of the NIMD initiative, a fear of dialogue and of losing power, internal discord, and a lack of internal communication.
 

International relations and experiences with peers strengthen common views on national agenda between parties

In order to increase the political parties’ understanding of how they could benefit from a partnership with the NIMD, and possible ways to institutionalize a political dialogue, NIMD planned to organise exchange visits with party leaders in other partner countries like Mali, Tanzania and/or Kenya. Due to a lack of funding and the inconsistent commitment of the ruling party, these visits have not materialised yet.  

Nonetheless, NIMD’s partners in Burundi benefited from experiences from peers. During the second multiparty workshop in November, Augustin Cissé from the CMD in Mali inspired Burundian party leaders when he amply explained his experiences with setting up a dialogue platform in his country. The BLTP director Fabien Nsengimana furthermore visited the CMD in Kenya to learn about its formation and current functioning. He also shared his experiences during a conference on post-conflict democratisation at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and learned more about the NIMD approach while visiting the NIMD premises in The Hague.