Burundi's National Assembly elects new ombudsman

The Burundian parliament lower chamber (National Assembly) Monday elected Edouard Nduwimana as the new ombudsman of Burundi in replacement of Mohamed Rukara whose six-year term has ended.

The chairman of the commission in charge of receiving applications from candidates to the position of the Burundian ombudsman, Reverien Nzigamasabo, told lawmakers in a plenary session that the commission had received 17 applications.

"Nine of the applications were not considered because they had missing information. Eight candidates were shortlisted and took a test. Edouard Nduwimana got 69 percent, Amisi Ntangibingura got 37 percent and Prosper Bazombanza got 32 percent," said MP Reverien Nzigamasabo.

He did not however mention names of the remaining candidates.

Nzigamasabo then presented the candidature of Edouard Nduwimana as the only "successful" candidate that needed to be approved by the National Assembly.

During the poll held in secrecy, 106 lawmakers voted for him, nine were against him and one abstained.

Edouard Nduwimana, a Tutsi from Burundi's northern province of Kayanza, replaces Mohamed Rukara, another Tutsi from the east African country's capital Bujumbura.

Nduwimana was the second vice-speaker of the National Assembly.

Right after Nduwimana's election as the new ombudsman of Burundi, lawmakers elected Jocky Chantal Nkurunziza, a Tutsi woman from the country's eastern province of Ruyigi, as the new second vice-speaker of the National Assembly. Enditem