Burundian constitutional referendum, 2005

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The Republic of Burundi held a constitutional referendum on 28 February 2005.

The new constitution guarantees representation for both ethnic groups by setting out the share of posts they will have in parliament and government and the army, which had been dominated by Tutsis since independence. Most political parties urged a "Yes" vote in the poll, but some Tutsi parties urged a "No" vote, stating that the new constitution doesn't give Tutsis enough guarantees. Election day was peaceful and no major incidents were reported. Voter turnout was high and the final results showed overwhelming support for the new constitution.

[edit] Main points of the constitution

The ethnic composition of the National Assembly is 60% Hutu and 40% Tutsi. Three additional seats are reserved for members of the Twa ethnic group, which makes up approximately one percent of the national population.
In the upper house of parliament, the Senate, seats are evenly divided (50%-50%) between Hutus and Tutsis.
Military posts are to be shared equally between the two groups.

[edit] Results

[discuss] – [edit]
**Summary of the 28 February 2005 Burundi constitutional referendum results**
Result	Votes	%
Yes votes	2,607,852	92.02
No votes	226,235	7.98
Total (turnout: 92.4%)	2,834,087	100.00
Invalid votes	60,285
Total votes	2,894,372
Registered voters	3,132,494
Source: African Elections Database