BUJUMBURA, Burundi — Burundi’s National Assembly on Thursday re-elected Gelase Daniel Ndabirabe as its president for the 2025–2030 legislative term in a plenary session aimed at forming the Bureau of the Assembly.
Ndabirabe, the sole candidate, received 109 of 111 votes, or 98.1 percent. One lawmaker abstained and one ballot was declared invalid.
Lawmakers also elected Fabrice Nkurunziza as First Vice-President of the National Assembly with 110 votes, or 99.1 percent, and one abstention.
The votes marked the formal establishment of the Bureau for the new legislature, which includes the president and two vice-presidents who oversee parliamentary proceedings and represent the Assembly in legislative matters.
Ndabirabe, a senior member of the ruling CNDD-FDD party, first assumed the role in 2020. His re-election reflects the party’s continued dominance following the June 2025 parliamentary elections, in which it won an overwhelming majority of seats.
The National Assembly is Burundi’s lower legislative chamber, composed of elected and co-opted members to ensure ethnic and gender representation, as mandated by the Constitution. Deputies serve five-year terms, and the Bureau is elected at the start of each new legislature.
Burundi’s Parliament plays a central role in lawmaking, government oversight and maintaining the constitutional power-sharing balance in the East African nation.
