National Council for the Defense of Democracy–Forces for the Defense of Democracy
Conseil National Pour la Défense de la Démocratie–Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie
PresidentGeneral Évariste Ndayishimiye
Secretary-GeneralReverien Ndikuriyo
Permanent VisionaryPierre Nkurunziza
Foundedc. May 1998
RegisteredJanuary 2005
Split fromNational Council for the Defense of Democracy
HeadquartersBujumbura
Youth wingImbonerakure
IdeologyHutu nationalism[1]
Populism[2]
ColorsRed, Green, White
Senate
34 / 43
National Assembly
86 / 123
Party flag
Website
http://cndd-fdd.org/

The National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy (French: Conseil National Pour la Défense de la Démocratie – Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie, CNDD–FDD) is the major political party in Burundi. During the Burundian Civil War, the CNDD–FDD was the most significant rebel group active and became a major political party in Burundi. The party's rule has been described as authoritarian.[3][4]

CNDD–FDD's youth wing is known as the Imbonerakure. Human Rights Watch has documented claims that members of Imbonerakure have harassed, arbitrarily detained, tortured, and killed alleged members of opponent parties and militias on behalf of the country's security forces, especially since Évariste Ndayishimiye became the president in 2020.[5]

History

During the civil war, the CNDD was the political wing of the organization, while the FDD was the military wing. The original CNDD was founded in 1994, a year after the first democratically elected President Melchior Ndadaye was killed by elements of Burundi's Tutsi-dominated army in a failed coup d'etat. The political wing was dominated by Hutu intellectuals from the southern region of Bururi led by Léonard Nyangoma, while the armed wing was made up of troops drawn from across the country.[6] During the war, the group was often referred to simply by the name of the armed wing (FDD).[7][8]

In May 1998, Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye, Nyangoma's chief of staff, caused a schism by ousting the latter over leadership issues and losses suffered by the group during the First Congo War,[9] the Nyangoma-led faction later taking a seat at the Arusha negotiations, while Ndayikengurukiye's faction carried out its fight.[10] In 2001, the CNDD– FDD consisted of about 25,000 rebels, but in September of that year Ndayikengurukiye was ousted by a faction led by Pierre Nkurunziza over the former's handling of negotiations with the government to join the transitional administration set up by in Arusha Accords.[11] The Nkurunziza-led faction, consisting of 20,000 to 22,000 troops signed a ceasefire with the government in December 2002 but continued fighting. The faction led by Ndayikengurukiye became the lesser of the two with about 5,000 fighters. It also signed a ceasefire with the government in October 2002 to which it has roughly held.

At an official ceremony in January 2005, the group registered as a legal political party. Months later, in the largely peaceful parliamentary elections on 4 July 2005, the CNDD–FDD won an estimated 60 to 80 percent of the vote, making it likely that a CNDD–FDD representative would be chosen the president in August. Pierre Nkurunziza indeed was elected President of Burundi unopposed on August 19. At the legislative elections, the party won 57.8% and 64 out of 118 seats.

In March 2012, Pascal Nyabenda was elected as President of CNDD–FDD. Then on 20 August 2016, General Évariste Ndayishimiye was, in the extraordinary congress that took place in Gitega, elected as the Secretary General of the Party.[12]

In June 2020, Nkurunziza died while still serving as President of Burundi and was succeeded by Ndayishimiye. Prior to Nkurunziza's death, Ndayishimiye had been elected President of Burundi in elections which were held in May 2020. Former Senate president Révérien Ndikuriyo, a hardliner, was chosen as the Secretary General of the CNDD–FDD in January 2021.[13]

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Election Party candidate Votes % Result
President elected by National Assembly and Senate
2005 Pierre Nkurunziza 151 94.4% Elected Green tick
President elected by popular vote
2010 Pierre Nkurunziza 2,479,483 91.62% Elected Green tick
2015 1,961,510 69.41% Elected Green tick
2020 Évariste Ndayishimiye 3,082,210 71.45% Elected Green tick

National Assembly elections

Election Party leader Votes % Seats +/– Position Result
2005 Hussein Radjabu 1,417,800 58.55%
64 / 118
 New 1st Majority government
2010 Jérémie Ngendakumana 1,848,023 81.19%
81 / 106
 Increase 17 Steady 1st Supermajority government
2015 Pascal Nyabenda 1,721,629 60.28%
86 / 121
 Increase 5 Steady 1st Supermajority government
2020 3,036,286 70.98%
86 / 123
 Steady Steady 1st Supermajority government

Senate elections

Election Party leader Seats +/– Position Result
2005 Hussein Radjabu
32 / 49
 New 1st Majority
2010 Jérémie Ngendakumana
32 / 41
 Steady Steady 1st Supermajority
2015 Pascal Nyabenda
33 / 43
 Increase 1 Steady 1st Supermajority
2020
34 / 43
 Increase 1 Steady 1st Supermajority

References

  1. ↑ Nantulya, Paul (2020-06-22). "Post-Nkurunziza Burundi: The Rise of the Generals". Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Archived from the original on 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
  2. ↑ Kazeem, Yomi (9 November 2016). "Africa's populists and strongmen are some of the first to welcome a Trump presidency". Quartz Africa. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  3. ↑ Burihabwa, Ntagahoraho Z.; Curtis, Devon E.A. (July 2019). "The Limits of Resistance Ideologies? The CNDD-FDD and the Legacies of Governance in Burundi". Government and Opposition. 54 (3): 559–583. doi:10.1017/gov.2019.2. ISSN 0017-257X.
  4. ↑ "Burundi: The CNDD-FDD, a steamroller leaving little space for the opposition". The Africa Report. Retrieved 2023-07-27.
  5. ↑ "Burundi: Suspected Opponents Killed, Detained, Tortured". Human Rights Watch. 18 May 2022.
  6. ↑ https://medialibrary.uantwerpen.be/oldcontent/container2143/files/DPP%20Burundi/Ethnicit%C3%A9/Partage%20du%20pouvoir/Falch%20and%20Becker%20(2008)%20Power-sharing%20and%20Peacebuilding%20in%20Burundi%20(CSCW%20Paper).pdf Archived 2021-06-02 at the Wayback Machine Falch & Becker, p.9
  7. ↑ "Burundi: Immediate action vital to stop killings - Burundi". Archived from the original on 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  8. ↑ "Refworld | Human Rights Watch World Report 1996 - Burundi". Archived from the original on 2019-07-07. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  9. ↑ https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/3de6530c4.pdf Archived 2021-11-04 at the Wayback Machine p. 8
  10. ↑ Falch & Becker, p. 9
  11. ↑ "Burundi : Les combats s'intensifient". Archived from the original on 2021-06-02. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  12. ↑ "Burundi president to run for third term despite protest". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
  13. ↑ "Burundi ruling party selects hardliner as secretary-general". AP NEWS. 24 January 2021. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2021.

Further reading

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