EMMANUEL GIROUD, ESDRAS NDIKUMANA, Bujumbura | Wednesday
AS more South African protection troops poured into Burundi on Tuesday, politicians from the government and the opposition engaged in last minute horse-trading for jobs in a transitional regime.
The Hutu-Tutsi power sharing arrangements are due to come into effect on Thursday and constitute a cornerstone of efforts to steer Burundi out of years of ethnic conflict that have claimed a quarter of a million lives.
The 26 members of the transitional government were meant to have been named on Tuesday, but no announcement had been made by late afternoon.
Shortly after noon, a second contingent of 240 South African troops arrived in Bujumbura as part of a 700-strong force mandated to protect 150 politicians returning from exile to take part in the new regime.
A peace accord politicians signed in August 2000 in the Tanzanian town of Arusha provided for a three-year period of transition during which the dominant Tutsis, who make up 15% of the population, share power with the Hutus, who account for the rest of the population, except for the Twas, who make up around two percent.
At the weekend, parliament voted through a transitional constitution which enshrined the key principles of the interim period.
Incumbent Tutsi President Major Pierre Buyoya, in power since a bloodless coup in 1996, will remain head of state for the first 18 months of the transition period.
The secretary general of the Hutu Front for Democracy in Burundi (FRODEBU), Domitien Ndayizeye will be vice president for this initial period.
Ndayizeye will then become president, while the post of vice president will go to a Tutsi. Buyoya has made it clear he will not take up this post.
The president will retain the most important powers but all decisions must be co-signed by the vice president, except those dealing with defence and state proclamations.
Fourteen of the 26 transitional portfolios will go to Hutus and 12 to Tutsis, who keep the key posts of defence, foreign affairs and finance.
Ministries of the interior and of public security will go to Hutus.
In the National Assembly, 60% of seats will be filled by Hutus, 40% by Tutsis.
The senate, a first for Burundi, will be filled by prominent citizens from both groups and from the provinces.
The mandate of the South African troops, which enjoys approval from the United Nations, also includes helping to form a mixed Hutu-Tutsi protection force.
Since the first contingent arrived on Sunday, these soldiers have stayed within the confines of downtown hotels pending the establishment of their base camp.
The first task of the transition government will be to reach a ceasefire with Hutu rebel groups that so far have not played a meaningful role in the peace process.
“Since Sunday, not a single shot has been fired by rebels in any part of the country. It is exceptional,” a Burundi army officer told AFP.
“I think they are adopting a wait-and-see attitude, he said. – AFP