National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy

hideThis article has multiple issues. Please help or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help by introducing citations to additional sources. Find sources:  –  ·  ·  · scholar · JSTOR (March 2014) This article includes a list of general references, but it remains largely unverified because it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (January 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

National Council for the Defense of Democracy–Forces for the Defense of Democracy Conseil National Pour la Défense de la Démocratie–Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie
President of Burundi	General Évariste Ndayishimiye
President	Reverien Ndikuriyo
Permanent Visionary	Pierre Nkurunziza
Founded	1998
Registered	January 2005
Split from	National Council for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD)
Headquarters	Bujumbura, Burundi
Youth wing	Imbonerakure
Ideology	Hutu nationalism
Colors	Red, Green, White
Senate	34 / 43
National Assembly	86 / 123
Party flag
Website
http://cndd-fdd.org/
Politics of Burundi Political parties Elections

The National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy (French: Conseil National Pour la Défense de la Démocratie – Forces pour la Défense de la Démocratie, or CNDD–FDD) is the major political party in Burundi. During the Burundian Civil War, the CNDD–FDD was the most significant rebel group active and became a major political party in Burundi. In March 2012, Pascal Nyabenda was elected as President of CNDD–FDD. Then on 20 August 2016, General Évariste Ndayishimiye was, in the extraordinary congress that took place in Gitega, elected as the Secretary General of the Party.

During the civil war, the CNDD was the political wing of the organization, while the FDD was the military wing. The original CNDD was founded in 1994, a year after the first democratically elected President Melchior Ndadaye was killed by elements of Burundi's Tutsi-dominated army in a failed coup d'etat. The political wing was dominated by Hutu intellectuals from the southern region of Bururi led by Leonard Nyangoma, while the armed wing was made up of troops drawn from across the country.^[1] During the war, the group was often referred to simply by the name of the armed wing (FDD).^[2][3]

In May 1998, Jean-Bosco Ndayikengurukiye, Nyangoma's chief of staff, caused a schism by ousting the latter over leadership issues and losses suffered by the group during the First Congo War,^[4] the Nyangoma-led faction later taking a seat at the Arusha negotiations, while the Ndayikengurukiye's faction carried out its fight.^[5] In 2001, the CNDD– FDD consisted of about 25,000 rebels, but in September of that year Ndayikengurukiye was ousted by a faction led by Pierre Nkurunziza over the former's handling of negotiations with the government to join the transitional administration set up by in Arusha Accords.^[6] The Nkurunziza-led faction, consisting of 20,000 to 22,000 troops signed a ceasefire with the government in December 2002 but continued fighting. The faction led by Ndayikengurukiye became the lesser of the two with about 5,000 fighters. It also signed a ceasefire with the government in October 2002 to which it has roughly held.

At an official ceremony in January 2005, the group registered as a legal political party. Months later, in the largely peaceful parliamentary elections on 4 July 2005, the CNDD won an estimated 60 to 80 percent of the vote, making it likely that a CNDD representative would be chosen the president in August. Pierre Nkurunziza indeed was elected President of Burundi unopposed on August 19. At the legislative elections, the party won 57.8% and 64 out of 118 seats.

CNDD–FDD's youth wing is led by .

In June 2020, Nkurunziza died while still serving as President of Burundi and was succeeded by Ndayishimiye. Prior to Nkurunziza's death, Ndayishimiye had been elect President of Burundi in elections which were held in May 2020. Former Senate president Reverien Ndikuriyo, a hardliner, was chosen as the Secretary General of the CNDD–FDD in January 2021.^[7]

Electoral history[]

Presidential elections[]

Election	Party candidate	Votes	%	Result
President elected by National Assembly and Senate
2005	Pierre Nkurunziza	151	94.4%	Elected Y
President elected by popular vote
2010	Pierre Nkurunziza	2,479,483	91.62%	Elected Y
2015		1,961,510	69.41%	Elected Y
2020	Évariste Ndayishimiye	3,082,210	71.45%	Elected Y

National Assembly elections[]

Election	Party leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Government
2005	Hussein Radjabu	1,417,800	58.55%	64 / 118	64	1st	Majority government
2010		1,848,023	81.19%	81 / 106	17	1st	Supermajority government
2015	Pascal Nyabenda	1,721,629	60.28%	86 / 121	5	1st	Supermajority government
2020		3,036,286	70.98%	86 / 123		1st	Supermajority government

Senate elections[]

Election	Party leader	Seats	+/–	Position	Government
2005	Hussein Radjabu	32 / 49	32	1st	Majority
2010		32 / 41		1st	Supermajority
2015	Pascal Nyabenda	33 / 43	1	1st	Supermajority
2020		34 / 43	1	1st	Supermajority

References[]

Further reading[]

• Nindorera, Willy (2012). The CNDD–FDD in Burundi: The Path from Armed to Political Struggle. Berlin: Berghof-Stiftung für Konfliktforschung. ISBN 978-3-941514-06-5. OCLC 873376633.

External links[]

• Ex-Hutu rebels win Burundi poll, BBC 5 July 2005