The need for democratic governance in post-conflict reconstruction settings in Burundi has been an issue of high concern for both people of Burundi, the region of the Great Lakes and the international community as whole.  Burundi experienced intractable conflicts, which dated from the independence era to 2005 when the transition government was established. This transition government resulted from a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that stopped the conflict. During mediation process that led to the signing of the CPA, the conflict was understood to be an ethnic conflict between two communities Hutu and Tutsi; hence, the mediators and facilitators that helped disputants to broker an agreement stipulated that Hutu community being majority must have 60% and Tutsi community being minority must have 40% of positions in the governance. This is because the mediators understood that power sharing between the two communities would bring about peace. Hence, the transition government was mandated to prepare for the general elections that would pave way for democratic governance. The transition government was established from 2002 to 2004. It was in the year of 2005 when the second democratic political leader was elected. During these general elections, the CNDD-FDD political party, a former rebel movement led by the late President Pierre Nkurunziza won the elections and established the government. 

Many people welcomed the new regime with enthusiasm and the hope of achieving good democratic governance, governance free from corruption, oppression and human rights abuse. However, the government was marked with many cases of human rights abuses, corruption and nepotism became the language of the day. The use of oppression became a norm in which people perceived opponent to the ruling party were ridiculed, killed and severely punished. The regime was also defined by the existence of deep-rooted corruption, and fear of death resulting from the former military and mobilised soldiers was another issue that made many people flee their motherland to neighbouring states such as Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda.  Good democratic governance characterised by the rule of law, transparency, effectiveness and efficiency, and accountability were lacking, and the country became fragile, an issue that made it to be vulnerable. 

This vulnerability was so obvious in 2015 when the late president decided to remain on power and vied for a third term in power. However, it should be noted that the third term was controversial and a result of the mistake that was committed by the mediators during the mediation process. There was a gap within the CPA and the late president took advantage of it and imposed himself on the people. Instead of the African Union and its mediators who facilitated the peace talks seeing the third term resulting from their failure, they however, shifted the blame to the then regime. This therefore brought about a bad leadership that resulted in instability. It also meant that post-conflict reconstruction which were meant to bring about peace and security by establishing democracy did not materialize. Post-conflict reconstruction situations in Burundi were marred by a series of human violations. This led to the international community imposing serious sanctions on the country. This is because governance plays a key role in peace and security, and is a major foundation for economic growth. It is vital to note that the lack of good governance is a challenge that states emerging from civil wars encounter. This is mostly because political leaders who assume political positions are mainly either people with militarism spirit in them, or people who had made human rights violation part of their lives. These people when put in position of leadership, their spirits follow them in the office. This is what occurred in the 15 years of reign under the ruling political party CNDD-FDD, and people did not have peace and security as they expected. 

The other challenge that most of the states emerging from war encounter is the issue of politics of identity. Politics in the conflict-affected states became a source of income to many political leaders. This challenge also hampered peacebuilding process in the country. This is because political affiliations and membership became criteria for people to get jobs to sustain their source of income. Those who were not members of the CNDD-FDD political, the ruling political party were segregated and marginalised. Meritocracy ceased to be the criteria for recruitment.  This is the reason that made many people to criticize the government and others fled in the search for greener pastures in the neighbouring states. The 15 years of the CNDD-FDD regime were marked by the refugee flow in the East African Region.  The argument here is the fact that the failure of adhering to the rule of law, and the lack of patriotism or political will make any state vulnerable, and a threat to security. For example, the presence of patriotism in the country makes one takes initiative to protect their country at the any cost. This is to say that patriotism is a driving force in the search for peace and stability. It is vital to note that patriotism makes people to view each other from the lenses of tribalism and the love for the country grows. This is the solution to conflict and should also be considered as one of the important elements in the search of for a peaceful society, as it makes the country less viable to violence, but ready to economic development opportunities. 

However, it is recommendable to argue that the regime built infrastructure and enabled the access to education available for everyone, and made it a right. This is because conflicts destroy basic infrastructure, disrupt the delivery of core services e.g. health, education, electricity, water, sanitation and impede the day-to-day routines associated with making a living. In the worst-case scenarios, conflicts lead to widespread suffering, massive population dislocation, humanitarian crises and epidemics. The inability of post-conflict states to provide fundamental public goods and services has impacts on both the immediate prospects for tending to citizens’ basic needs and restarting economic activity, and long-term prospects for assuring welfare, reducing poverty, and facilitating socio-economic growth. Restoring or in some cases creating service delivery capacity and initiating economic recovery are central to governance reconstruction agendas.

In May 2020, the 4th general elections took place, and the late president did step down peacefully and endorsed Major General Evariste Ndayishimiye (a former army commandant) as his successor. Evariste Ndayishimiye therefore became the presidential candidate in then general elections under the CNDD-FDD ticket. The observers and experts mentioned that the elections could be the first competitive vote since a civil war that ended in 2005. However, the campaigns took place in May during the COVID-19 pandemic where travels had been restricted. This made the general elections to be accused of much violence and irregularities. Cases of deaths associated to the political campaigns were reported across the country. For example, the Ligue Iteka, the local human rights group, reported around “67 killings, in addition to 14 extrajudicial executions, 15 cases of gender-based violence, 23 cases of torture, 204 arbitrary arrests and six abductions”. It also reported a number of journalists who have been threatened and arrested. One can argue that during the reign of the CNDD-FDD, violence, mass displacement and human rights characterised the regime. Hence, it is the hope of every person in the country that the new regime would not copy the former regime and set up platforms that would enable peace and security to be sustainable. During the inaugural speech, his excellence the current president, said that peace, stability, economic development and the fight against corruption are the main tasks that he has come to address.   

Rebuilding effectiveness has to do, first and foremost, with the functions and capacity of the public sector. Good governance in this area means, for example, adequate and functioning municipal infrastructure, widely available health care and schooling, provision of roads and transportation networks and attention to social safety nets. Since in most countries, effective basic services depend on more than government, the functions and capacity of the private sector and civil society are also critical. Beyond service provision, effective economic governance is included here. Good practices involve sound macroeconomic and fiscal policymaking, efficient budget management, promotion of equitably distributed wealth creating investment opportunities, and an adequate regulatory framework. However, political leaders set up policies that favor powerful elites, few budget controls and rampant corruption, cronyism and patronage arrangements that limit opportunity and siphon off public assets for private gain, and usually a combination of punitive use of existing regulations and exemptions to benefit the favored few.

The new president has a challenge to deal and address all those above-mentioned challenges and anomalies that have characterised the former regime. The issue of corruption in all sectors of public sectors, for example in judicial systems, various ministerial departments remain a challenge to the entire country. People need more services and security to recover from economic hardship that the former regime had plunged them in. a good and strong service delivery that leads to economic development must be made a priority, and hence established. This is because if service delivery is uneven or ineffective it tends to lead the people to withdraw support from government, to think of violent means to earn a living. Particularly, when coupled with the ethnic tensions, weak institutions and inability or unwillingness can contribute to conflict recurrence. This makes good governance connected to security and peace secure source of income leads to economic development, therefore lead to sustainability. This is because crimes and conflicts feed on poverty, and peace and security are fed to sustainable source of income that lead to economic growth. Therefore economic growth at grassroot level leads to the prevalence of peace and security. The new regime has task to bring economic growth to the people as to secure their source of income. This will require the new president to apply people-to-people and bottom up strategy for economic development opportunities.

Re-establishing security also means creation of jobs opportunities in the country. It also means the creation of a culture of respecting people’s fundamental rights. If coupled with humanitarian and emergency relief, since the country still has large numbers of internally displaced persons and refugees in the neighbouring states, the regime has task to bring back refugees who have fled the country because of fear of their lives. The success of the new regime would mean that security of the people is taken seriously and a paramount, and all are treated equally. It also means that the rule of law prevails in the place of oppression and impunity. The culture of oppression and impunity that characterised the former regime must be put to an end. This is because security is a necessary precursor to stabilisation and progress towards a return to something approaching ‘normal’ economic and political activity. This therefore means that the new regime needs to re-establish security apparatus that address impunity, corruption and oppression emanating from the police and military as well. In addition, torture towards human rights activists must be terminated, freedom of choice and speech led by accountability should be made available. The rule of terror that has created fear and uncertainty in the people must also be terminated. The existing impunity and corruption in the judicial systems and the operation of the courts needs to be addressed. Unaccountable, corrupt and subversive judicial systems are major barriers to state legitimacy, impede the restoration of basic services and often contribute to reigniting conflict. The above stand as major tasks that the new regime needs to deal with as to restore hope in the people. 

In conclusion, in the former regime the country’s diplomacy and foreign policy towards other states in the regions and international community was hampered by the third term that the late president had imposed himself on the people without their consent. This led to many political leaders be sanctioned, and the country be put under economic embargoes. The new regime must address this issue and clear the air in the international community. It must be able to establish foreign policy that allows the country to achieve its national interests if any without compromising the needs of the people. One of the strong tie should be to strengthen itself in the East African Community and to resume its diplomatic talks with the Southern African Development Community leaders and seek to comply with the requirements to enable its membership in the Southern Region. This can be achieved if only the regime is a government of the people by the people and for the people. It must be a regime that allows people to participate and have a say in the establishment of the policies that govern them. The militarism spirit, which normally brings oppression and dictatorship, is addressed by allowing people to participate and echo their voices in the governance at both grass root, middle and top levels. Political equality and participation, responsiveness, efficiency and effectiveness, openness and transparency and rule of law are social norms and tenets of good governance that leads to sustainable peace and security. These tenets should be taken seriously and should define any strictures or systems of leadership put in place in Burundi.