2025 Burundian parliamentary election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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5 June 2025
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All 100 directly elected seats in the National Assembly | |||||||||||||||||
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. | |||||||||||||||||
13 seats in the Senate 7 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||
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 Burundi portal |
Parliamentary elections were held in Burundi on 5 June 2025 to elect members of the National Assembly and communal councils. The election took place amid a deepening socio-economic crisis and was marked by the effective exclusion of the main opposition party, the National Congress for Liberty (CNL), resulting in an expected victory for the ruling CNDD-FDD party.[1][2][3]
Burundi has experienced decades of political instability, ethnic violence, and authoritarian rule. Since 2005, the CNDD-FDD has dominated Burundian politics. The 2025 election was the first parliamentary vote since President Évariste Ndayishimiye took office in 2020, succeeding Pierre Nkurunziza.[1]
Electoral system
The National Assembly consists of 100 members elected by closed list proportional representation in multi-member constituencies corresponding to the country's provinces. Seats are allocated using the d'Hondt method, with a national 2% electoral threshold. An additional three seats are reserved for members of the Twa ethnic group, and further members may be co-opted to ensure a 60–40 split between Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups and a 30% quota for women.
The Senate is elected by colleges of local councillors, with similar ethnic and gender quotas.
Campaign
The official campaign period began in early May 2025, with thousands of candidates participating in a ceremony in Gitega, the capital.[4] Despite the festive start, the campaign was overshadowed by allegations of repression and the exclusion of the main opposition.
The CNL, which placed second in the 2020 elections, was suspended in 2023 by the Ministry of the Interior for alleged "irregularities." In late 2024, while party leader Agathon Rwasa was abroad, he was ousted from leadership in a move widely seen as orchestrated by the government. Rwasa and his allies were subsequently barred from joining other parties or standing as independents.[1][2][3]
Opposition parties also accused the Imbonerakure, the youth wing of the CNDD-FDD, of harassing and intimidating their supporters.[5]
Voting and turnout
Over six million voters were registered for the 2025 elections, with 14,156 polling stations established nationwide and abroad, including 53 stations for the diaspora and peacekeeping missions.[1][6] Early reports indicated high voter turnout, with long queues at polling stations despite ongoing fuel shortages and economic hardship.[1]
President Ndayishimiye cast his vote in his home village and called on elected officials to serve the nation faithfully.[1]
