Problématique de l’exercice du droit de vote des personnes en détention provisoire au Burundi

Abstract

In our work entitled "The Problem of Exercising the Right to Vote for Persons in Pretrial Detention in Burundi," the effective implementation of this right for certain categories of citizens, particularly those imprisoned, is hampered by the current Penal Code and the 2024 Electoral Code, which define the cases of temporary electoral incapacity for persons held in pretrial detention in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Our overall objective is to analyze the legal, institutional, and practical obstacles to the implementation of the right to vote for persons held in criminal proceedings in Burundi. Specifically, our work seeks to identify the legal and regulatory texts governing the right to vote in Burundi and to propose mechanisms to guarantee the effective exercise of the right to vote in places of detention. To achieve the aforementioned objectives, we formulated two research hypotheses: that the non-implementation of voting rights for individuals in pretrial detention in Burundi stems from a legal vacuum or a restrictive interpretation of existing laws, and that the exclusion of pretrial detainees from the electoral process in Burundi is primarily linked to a lack of political will. The results of our work have shown that the absence of a clear legislative commitment and the lack of clear and specific legal frameworks governing the voting rights of individuals facing criminal charges are the main obstacles to the effective implementation of this right for those in pretrial detention.