TITLE I. OF THE STATE AND OF THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE PEOPLE
1. OF GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Article 1
Burundi is an independent, sovereign, secular, democratic, unitary Republic which respects its ethnic and religious diversity.
Article 2
The national territory of Burundi is unalienable and indivisible.
Article 3
Burundi is subdivided into provinces, communes, zones, and local administrations, and all other subdivisions as stipulated by law. Their organization and functioning are prescribed by law. The law can modify their limits as well as their number.
Article 4
The status and the reestablishment of monarchy must be made the object of a referendum.
Any militant party which peacefully pursues the restoration of monarchy has the right to operate.
Article 5
The national language is Kirundi. The official languages are Kirundi and all other languages as determined by law.
All legislative texts must have a version in Kirundi.
Article 6
The principle of the Republic of Burundi is government of the People, by the People, and for the People.
Article 7
National sovereignty belongs to the people who exercise it, whether directly by the means of referendum or indirectly through their representatives.
No group of people, no individual can usurp its practice.
Article 8
Suffrage is universal, equal, protected, free and transparent. It may be direct or indirect according to conditions stipulated by the law.
The electorate, according to the terms determined by the electoral code, is composed of all Burundians aged 18 years enjoying their civil and political rights.
Article 9
The capital of Burundi is fixed at Bujumbura. The law can move the capital to any other city of the Republic or it can separate the political capital from the economic capital.
Article 10
The flag of Burundi is tricolor: green, white, and red. It has the shape of a rectangle partitioned by a diagonal cross, having at its center a white disk stamped with three six-pointed red stars which form a notional equilateral triangle inscribed in a notional circle having the same center as the disk and of which the base is parallel to the length of the flag.
The law specifies the dimensions and other details of the flag.
Article 11
The motto of Burundi is “Unity, Work, Progress”. The symbol of the Republic of Burundi is a coat of arms stamped with the head of a lion in addition to three spears, all surrounded by the national motto.
The national anthem is “Burundi bwacu”.
The Seal of the Republic is determined by law.
Article 12
The quality of Burundians is acquired, conserved, and lost according to the conditions determined by law.
The children born of Burundian men or women have the same rights in regard to the law of nationality.
2. OF FUNDAMENTAL VALUES
Article 13
All Burundian people are equal in merit and in dignity. All citizens enjoy the same rights and have the same protection of the law. No Burundian will be excluded from the social, political, or economic life due to their race, language, religion, sex, or ethnic origin.
Article 14
All Burundian people have the right to live in Burundi in peace and security. The people must live together in harmony, all in respecting human dignity and in tolerating their differences.
Article 15
The Government is established by the will of the Burundian people. It is responsible before them and it respects their fundamental liberties and rights.
Article 16
The Burundi government must be composed so that all Burundians are represented in it and so that it represents all Burundians, so that each person has an equal chance of being part of it, so that all citizens have access to public services, and so that the decisions and actions of the Government receive the greatest possible support.
Article 17
The Government is tasked with the realization of the Burundian people’s aspirations, in particular to heal the divisions of the past, to improve the quality of life of all Burundians, and to guarantee to all the option to live in Burundi sheltered from fear, discrimination, disease, and hunger.
Article 18
The function of the political regime is to unite, reassure, and reconcile all Burundians. This government ensures that the implemented Government serves the Burundian people, the source of its power and its authority.
The Government respects the separation of powers, the pre-eminence of law, and the principles of good governance and of transparence in the conduct of public affairs.
