Communiqué of the 23rd Summit of the Great Lakes Regional Peace Initiative on Burundi, 15 October 2004

A Summit of the Great Lakes Regional Initiative on Burundi met in Nairobi, Kenya, on 15 October 2004, and reviewed the progress made in the Burundi peace process since the last Summit.

The Summit was attended by the following Heads of State and representatives of governments:

• His Excellency President Mwai Kibaki, President of the Republic of Kenya,
• His Excellency President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, chairperson of the Regional Initiative on Burundi,
• His Excellency President Paul Kagame of the Republic of Rwanda,
• His Excellency, President Domitien Ndayizeze of Burundi,
• His Excellency, President Abdullah Yusuf Ahmed of the Transitional Federal Republic of Somalia,
• His Excellency Deputy President Jacob Zuma of the Republic of South Africa and Facilitator of the Burundi peace process,
• The United Republic of Tanzania was represented by Mr Jakaya Kikwete, the Hon Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation,
• The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was represented by His Excellency Abdulaziz Adem, Ethiopian Ambassador to the Republic of Kenya,

Also present were:

• Mr Patrick Mazimhaka, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission,
• Ambassador Mamadou Bah, Special Representative of the African Union in Bujumbura,
• Ms Carolyn McAskie, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General in Bujumbura.

The Summit reflected on the resolutions of the 22nd Summit held on 18 August 2004, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania which endorsed the Pretoria Agreement on Power-sharing and further mandated President Ndayizeye to ensure the following:

• That the Independent Electoral Commission is established by 29 August 2004.
• That within three weeks of the establishment of the IEC, The Burundi National Assembly should adopt the draft Constitution. On failure to do that, the President of the Republic of Burundi should send the draft Constitution to the referendum or to the Implementation Monitoring Committee to invoke Protocol II Article 15.7 of the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement.

The 23rd Summit welcomed the progress made by the Transitional Government, specifically the following:

• The establishment of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) comprising five members.
• The adoption of the draft post transitional Constitution.
• The announcement by President Ndayizeye of the date of the referendum on the post transitional constitution, as 20 October 2004.

The 22nd Regional Summit had reached an understanding that once the IEC had been established and conducted its investigation on the logistics necessary for the holding of the elections, it should report to the Chairperson of the Region and the Facilitator.

In light of that, the Chairperson convened an urgent meeting where the IEC presented its report to President Museveni and Deputy President Zuma, in Kampala, Uganda on 12 October 2004.

Subsequent to that, a Summit was convened by the Chairperson to discuss the report and proposals of the IEC.

The Summit has received a report and recommendations of the Independent Electoral Commission.

Based on the reality on the ground, the Summit accepts that elections cannot take place before 1 November 2004.

The Summit further endorses the electoral calendar of the Independent Electoral Commission.

Furthermore, the Summit noted that the life of the transition institutions and administration has to be extended.

In this regard, the Summit notes that the joint sitting of the National Assembly and Senate (Congress) has passed a draft constitution which addresses this eventuality. Therefore the decision of the summit is that the draft constitution passed by the Congress be endorsed before 25 October 2004, as an interim constitution until the referendum, to facilitate the process of the elections in line with the calendar of the Independent Electoral Commission.

The Summit also decided that the region should also assist the Transitional Government of Burundi to secure the financial resources required for the elections, by ensuring that the donors who had pledged funds met their obligations.

The 23rd Summit acknowledged the key role played by the Republic of Kenya in working for peace in the region, and sincerely thanked His Excellency President Kibaki, the government and people of the Republic of Kenya, for the warm hospitality extended to delegates to the Summit.

Issued by: The Presidency
15 October 2004