14,729,200 people
Source: Tyranny Tracker
HRF classifies Burundi as ruled by a fully authoritarian regime.
Burundi is a presidential republic led by Évariste Ndayishimiye of the ruling CNDD-FDD, who took power in June 2020 after a highly manipulated election. Since its independence in 1962, the country has experienced over ten coup attempts, with six successful, and a protracted bloody civil war. The instability has largely been driven by violent power struggles between the Hutu majority, which makes up 85% of the population, and the Tutsi minority, which has historically dominated political and military power. The first multiparty elections in 1993 brought the first Hutu leader, Melchior Ndadaye, to power, but he was assassinated by Tutsi army officers three months after he took office, sparking a twelve-year-long civil war in which the Hutu-dominated National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) rebel group prevailed. Since the first post-war elections in 2005, the CNDD-FDD has dominated the political landscape.
Elections are a sham, to the point where the real, mainstream political opposition does not have a realistic chance to meaningfully compete and possibly win. The former rebel group CNDD-FDD has held power since its late leader, Pierre Nkurunziza, was elected in an indirect election in 2005. The real, mainstream opposition boycotted the 2010 polls based on concerns of rigging, and the CNDD-FDD claimed victories in the 2015 and 2020 elections by 53 points and 46 points, respectively, amid repression and accusations of fraud and manipulation. The regime manipulates the electoral process and controls the institutions that should guarantee free and fair elections.
Independent media, political leaders, civil society leaders, organizations, and ordinary citizens face open and systematic retaliation if they openly criticize the regime. The regime cultivates fear by banning media activities and silencing dissent through abductions, threats, persecution, arbitrary arrests, and killings.
Institutions largely fail to serve as independent checks on the regime. There is a significant lack of institutional accountability in Burundi, primarily due to the regime’s capture of judicial, legislative, and executive institutions. The judiciary is unable to hold the CNDD-FDD accountable or serve as a check to prevent its actions. Likewise, the regime, through the powers granted to the president, has the ability to intervene in legislative decisions, including through the exemption from constitutional amendments.
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