Government (Burundi)
====================


     Long-form name:
         Republic of Burundi
     Type:
         republic
     Capital:
         Bujumbura
     Administrative divisions:
         15 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi,
         Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi
     Independence:
         1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration)
     Constitution:
         20 November 1981; suspended following the coup of 3 September 1987; a
         constitutional committee was charged with drafting a new constitution
         created in February 1991; a referendum on the new constitution scheduled for
         March 1992
     Legal system:
         based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted
         compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
     National holiday:
         Independence Day, 1 July (1962)
     Executive branch:
         president; chairman of the Central Committee of the National Party of Unity
         and Progress (UPRONA), prime minister
     Legislative branch:
         unicameral National Assembly (Assemblee Nationale) was dissolved following
         the coup of 3 September 1987; at an extraordinary party congress held from
         27 to 29 December 1990, the Central Committee of the National Party of Unity
         and Progress (UPRONA) replaced the Military Committee for National
         Salvation, and became the supreme governing body during the transition to
         constitutional government
     Judicial branch:
         Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
     Leaders:
       Chief of State:
         Major Pierre BUYOYA, President (since 9 September 1987)
       Head of Government:
         Prime Minister Adrien SIBOMANA (since 26 October 1988)
     Political parties and leaders:
         only party - National Party of Unity and Progress (UPRONA), Nicolas MAYUGI,
         secretary general; note - although Burundi is still officially a one-party
         state, at least four political parties were formed in 1991 in anticipation
         of proposed constitutional reform in 1992 - Burundi Democratic Front
         (FRODEBU), Organization of the People of Burundi (RPB), Socialist Party of
         Burundi (PSB), Movement for Peace and Democracy (MPD) - the Party for the
         Liberation of the Hutu People (PALIPEHUTU), formed in exile in the early
         1980s, is an ethnically based political party dedicated to majority rule;
         the government has long accused PALIPEHUTU of practicing devisive ethnic
         politics and fomenting violence against the state. PALIPEHUTU's exclusivist
         charter makes it an unlikely candidate for legalization under the new
         constitution that will require party membership open to all ethnic groups
     Suffrage:
         universal adult at age NA
     Elections:
       National Assembly:
         dissolved after the coup of 3 September 1987; note - The National Unity
         Charter outlining the principles for constitutional government was adopted
         by a national referendum on 5 February 1991