Burundi ready for democracy
2005-03-23 12:33
Pretoria - The people of Burundi had shown they were ready for democracy, South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday.
"What we are looking for in Burundi is peace and stability," he told a media briefing at Pretoria's Union Buildings.
"The people of Burundi have shown they are ready to participate in a big decision to bring about democracy in their country."
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in Burundi was waiting for the interim government's president to announce the election date after receiving the Electoral and Communal Law from the Senate.
Only then would it be able to formulate an election timetable, Zuma said.
The IEC said it would need an extension of two months and one week on the initial timetable set out at the Nairobi summit, to prepare for the Burundi election.
Elections were to have started in the hills region on February 9 and end with the presidential election on April 24.
Zuma said there was a general preference among Burundians to have the elections start at such a date that the president would be able inaugurated on July 1 - Burundi National Day.
"That date is not set. At this point, no one knows what the actual date of the beginning of the elections will be," Zuma said.
- SAPA