To achieve an environment conducive to democratic elections, freedom of movement, association, assembly and expression should be respected with any restrictions being limited, proportional and only for reasons of strict necessity; such reasons should be transparently conveyed.

A comprehensive review of the different forms required from polling station committees and constituency electoral offices should be carried out to make them simpler and easier to complete as well as reducing the number of different forms. The forms for polling station and constituency offices should be on carbonless copy paper to reduce the workload of election officials and speed up the counting and consolidation processes. The use of trained personnel sent from the NEBE headquarters to assist and possibly digitalise certain elements of the consolidation process could be considered.

The Electoral Law should be amended to give precedence to the voters' clear intention, regardless of the actual sign used to express it in the determination of valid votes.

The jurisdiction of Joint Councils for Political Parties (JCPPs) should be limited to minor electoral offences, such as the removal of campaign posters and civil matters regarding the electoral process and the campaign. Other electoral offences should be immediately referred to the judiciary. JCPPs could consider including members of the police and civil society organisations to ensure greater participation and transparency in the process when addressing electoral offences.

Steps should be taken to ensure that all election-related offences are investigated and that all offenders are prosecuted and held accountable in a timely manner. A more proactive role for judicial authorities and prosecutors in handling electoral matters could also be promoted.

Women’s participation in the HPR, State Councils, political parties and the electoral administration must be further promoted. Greater funds could be provided for women candidates in the public funding of election campaigns. The NEBE could also consider introducing a gender quota throughout its structure.

A permanent monitoring mechanism could be considered to verify the Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency’s (ERTA) compliance with its obligations as a public broadcaster. State owned media impartiality and balanced coverage beyond the campaign period could also be monitored by the Ethiopian Broadcasting Authority and reported to the HPR.

The provisions of Article 59 of the Electoral Law, requiring state-owned media to provide free airtime to parties during the campaign, should be amended in line with the Broadcast Service Law, which requires all media to provide free airtime during the electoral period.

The NEBE should re-consider its preference for retaining exclusive competence over voter information programmes. Greater efforts could be made to ensure that voter education is available in more minority languages.

The ratios used to allocate campaign financing should be re-considered to limit the degree of proportionality in terms of presence in the HPR. Auditing of campaign finance and a ceiling on campaign spending could be considered to help level the playing field between parties as well as increasing the transparency and accountability of election campaigns.

The absence of one opposition leader in exile, as well as the imprisonment of one political leader, qualified as arbitrary detention by the United Nations, should be addressed. The review of these leaders’ legal cases would constitute an important and necessary step in order to broaden the political space.

A centralised and computerised national voter register should be created, with sufficient safeguards and crosschecking procedures to prevent multiple registrations. The possibility of introducing a permanent register could be assessed. An audit of the electoral register could also be considered. All political parties should be provided with copies of the register, including higher education and military registration, well in advance of Election Day. To enable greater inclusiveness and accuracy, the period for voter registration and the public display of the register could be extended by at least four weeks.

The appointment procedure for NEBE Board members should be revised to generate greater confidence in the NEBE's independence among all stakeholders. An independent, multi-party appointment panel could be considered. Members of the NEBE Board should not be allowed to hold positions simultaneously that may result in a conflict of interests.

Serious efforts should be taken to limit the involvement of governmental administrative structures, down to kebele level, in the organisation and implementation of the electoral process. The development of an independent structure for the NEBE throughout the country, gradually diminishing its dependence on local administrative structures should be envisaged. These measures could prevent and curtail suspicions of governmental control of the electoral process as well as the blurred separation between the state and the ruling party in electoral activities and the undue use of state resources at regional and local levels.

A review of constituency boundaries should be undertaken to ensure that constituencies better reflect actual population trends, thus contributing to greater equality of the vote. Any such revision should be overseen by an independent panel. The allocation of “Special Constituencies” for the representation of minority groups should also be revised.

Electoral offences and the competent jurisdictions for their adjudication should be reviewed in order to provide clear and comprehensive guidelines in the Electoral Law, including explicit reference to the use of state resources, to ensure that all offenders are held accountable for their actions before the courts. The penalties for some electoral offences should also be reviewed to ensure greater proportionality. Recent proclamations that affect human rights and fundamental freedoms could be discussed and reviewed by all stakeholders to reduce potential repercussions on the electoral process and the overall human rights situation.

Essentielles - La Cour Constitutionnelle devrait faire l’objet d’un renforcement substantiel (moyens, capacité, organisation et fonctionnement).
Dirigées à - Etat Burundais Législateur Administration électorale

Essentielles - La création d’un registre des plaintes afin de faciliter le traitement du contentieux.
Dirigées à - Etat Burundais Législateur Administration électorale

The EU EOM encourages the efforts to reduce the number of result forms to be filled in by the polling station members.

Essentielles - Remanier l’article 50 de la Loi n.01/025 du 27 novembre 2003 régissant la presse au Burundi de façon à dépénaliser les délits de presse.
Dirigées à - Législateur et bailleurs de fonds.

Essentielles - La MOE UE a constaté, tout au long de sa présence, le rôle positif des médias burundais en particulier pour leur travail pendant processus électoral et leur attachement à garantir le droit à l’information des citoyens. La MOE UE voudrait mettre en exergue la collaboration remarquable des médias afin de couvrir, en « synergie », les différentes périodes de campagne électorale et jours de scrutin. La liberté de presse et la liberté d’expression sont indispensables à tout État démocratique. Il est donc recommandé au nouveau législateur de poursuivre ses efforts pour préserver ce cadre de liberté d’expression à la fois sur les ondes mais aussi dans la presse écrite.
Souhaitables - Attribuer au CNC la possibilité d’organiser des débats contradictoires à la radio et à la télévision pendant la période de campagne électorale.
Dirigées à - Législateur et bailleurs de fonds.

Essentielles - Les dispositions du Code électoral sur la composition des listes électorales ne sont pas de nature à garantir par elles-mêmes l’objectif d’un tiers de femmes élues. Il est recommandé d’appliquer en matière d’équilibre de genre les mêmes obligations qu’en matière d’équilibre ethnique inscrites à l’article 127 du code, à savoir que sur trois candidats successifs, deux seulement devraient être de même genre.
Souhaitables - Il est souhaitable de sensibiliser les partis politiques pour les inciter à former davantage de femmes à l’exercice des responsabilités dans la perspective des élections de 2015 afin de renforcer les capacités des femmes élues. Cela pourrait se faire, notamment, en renforçant des programmes déjà existants tels que celui de la Synergie des Partenaires pour la Promotion des Droits de la Femme.
Dirigées à - Partis politiques, Législateur, Parlement, Organisations féminines

Essentielles - Garantir l’immunité provisoire pour les candidats pendant la période électorale (voir plaintes et recours).
Dirigées à - Partis politiques, CENI, Etat burundais; Partis politiques

Essentielles - La MOE UE a observé que malgré l’interdiction formelle de l’utilisation des biens de l’Etat à des fins de propagande, les partis politiques au Gouvernement ont fait recours aux biens de l’Etat pour des fins de campagne. Cette pratique n’a pas été sanctionnée par les instances habilitées. Il est nécessaire que les partis politiques respectent les dispositions légales. Au cas où ces dispositions sont violées, il revient aux instances habilitées d’appliquer les sanctions prévues (voir cadre juridique).
Dirigées à - Partis politiques, CENI, Etat burundais; Partis politiques

Essentielles - Les rôles électoraux sont un des développements positifs de ce cycle électoral. Il est important de pérenniser cet acquis par une maintenance appropriée et des mises à jour régulières. Il est recommandé de confier à la CENI la responsabilité du maintien et des mises à jour du rôle électoral. Les mises à jour peuvent être effectuées sur une base annuelle et être conduites en coopération avec les structures communales. De même, il est recommandé que des procédures de contentieux de la mise à jour des listes soient établies.
Souhaitables - Afin de maintenir la confiance dans l’intégrité desrôles électoraux, les mandataires des partis politiques doivent pouvoir suivre le processus de mise à jour. Il est également recommandé de tenir à leur disposition un bilan détaillé sous format électronique des mises à jour effectuées.
Dirigées à - Législateur Code électoral, Chapitre II & CENI