Isabelle Nahayo, Burundian Minister in charge of the East African Community says Burundi does not recognise the recent election of the Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) because the regulations underlying the community were not respected.
Nahayo Isabelle: “Burundi does not recognise the recent election of the EALA Speaker because the regulations governing the community were not respected.”
“Burundi has asked for clear explanations,” she says.
As for the question whether or not Burundian MPs elected as members of EALA will continue their activities, Minister Nahayo says she cannot answer such a question at the present time. “There are no scheduled activities that Burundian MPs have missed so far. We are still waiting for EALA’s response to our demand for clarification. I hope that they will respond before activities begin”, says Nahayo.
Burundian MPs have asked for clarification after a controversial election which ended in favour of Martin Ngoga from Rwanda as the EALA Speaker.
The Burundian Minister in charge of the East African Community affairs also says she recognises the poor relationship between Burundi and Rwanda. “Nobody ignores that the diplomatic relations between both countries are strained. This is an issue of huge concern not only to Burundians or Rwandans but also to the whole community”, she says adding that this affects the East African Community’s activities.
Nahayo says this issue is among the key questions to be dealt with in the next EAC summit.
While Burundi and the United Republic of Tanzania were not present in the session and rejected the results of the election of the new EALA Speaker, Tanzanian MPs later recognised the elected Speaker and accepted to continue with EALA’s activities.
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