Politics of Burundi takes place in a framework of a transitional presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Burundi is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Senate and the National Assembly.
Tariq Aziz was Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister (1979–2003) and Foreign Minister (1983–1991) and a close advisor of President Saddam Hussein. Their association began in the 1950s when both were activists for the then-banned Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. Although he was an Arab nationalist he was in fact an ethnic Assyrian, and a member of the Chaldean Catholic Church.
Domitien Ndayizeye is a Burundian politician who was President of Burundi from 2003 to 2005. He succeeded Pierre Buyoya, as president on 30 April 2003, after serving as Buyoya's vice president for 18 months. Ndayizeye remained in office until succeeded by Pierre Nkurunziza on 26 August 2005.
The Front for Democracy in Burundi is a Hutu progressive political party in Burundi.
The National Assembly is the lower chamber of Parliament in Burundi. It consists of 100 directly elected members and between 18 and 21 co-opted members who serve five-year terms.
The position of Vice-President of the Republic of Burundi was created in June 1998, when a transitional constitution went into effect. It replaced the post of Prime Minister.
Alphonse-Marie Kadege was Vice-President of Burundi from 30 April 2003 to 11 November 2004. He is an ethnic Tutsi and a member of the Union for National Progress (UPRONA) Party. On January 15, 2007, he was acquitted on charges of plotting a coup, along with former president Domitien Ndayizeye and three others; two others were sentenced to long prison terms. Actually, Kadege and Ndayizeye were never tried. It appeared that the whole accusation of a coup plot was the work and machination of government agencies. Kadege was severely tortured while in custody. One of the participants in the torture, Willy Nyamitwe, recorded several sessions that were later to be posted on YouTube.
Alice Nzomukunda is a Burundian politician and former Second Vice-President of the country, from 29 August 2005 to 5 September 2006. She is an ethnic Hutu and was a member of the National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD).
In 2007 the Government of Burundi consisted of a 20-member Council of Ministers appointed by the President. The Council of Ministers, together with the President and Vice-Presidents, forms the executive branch of government in the country.
The Union for Peace and Democracy, also known as the Union for Peace and Development or Union for Peace and Democracy–Zigamibanga (UPD–Zigamibanga), is a small political party in Burundi which was founded in 2002 but which only became active after 2007. The UPD is one of the parties in opposition to the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD–FDD) party. It is seen as the party of Burundi's small Muslim community.
The Trial of Saddam Hussein was the trial of the deposed President of Iraq Saddam Hussein by the Iraqi Interim Government for crimes against humanity during his time in office.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Iraq.
Marina Barampama is a Burundian politician. She was elected Second Vice President on 8 September 2006, replacing Alice Nzomukunda. She remained in post for six months, until she was sacked for her support of Hussein Radjabu. Formerly a member of the National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD–FDD), she is now General Secretary of the Union for Peace and Development.
Emadeddin Baghi is an Iranian human rights activist, prisoners' rights advocate, investigative journalist, theologian and writer. He is the founder and head of the Committee for the Defense of Prisoners' Rights and the Society of Right to Life Guardians in Iran, and the author of twenty books, six of which have been banned in Iran. Baghi was imprisoned in connection with his writings on the Chain Murders of Iran, which occurred in Autumn 1998, and imprisoned again in late 2007 for another year on charges of "acting against national security." According to his family and lawyers, Baghi has been summoned to court 23 times since his release in 2003. He has also had his passport confiscated, his newspaper closed, and suspended prison sentences passed against his wife and daughter. Baghi was rearrested on 28 December 2009 on charges related to an interview with Grand Ayatollah Hussein-Ali Montazeri. Baghi was released and then again rearrested on 5 December 2010.
Nurettin Demirtaş is a former Kurdish politician of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) and current member of the PKK.
Jean-Claude Kavumbagu is a Burundian Internet journalist who has been arrested on multiple occasions for issues related to his reporting. In 2011, he was charged with treason in a high-profile trial and named a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.
