Institution of Ubushingantahe: Alternative Remedy to the Burundi Political Conflict Related to Elections

After a decade of failed democratization and civil politico-ethnic wars at every election year, an agreement about power sharing has been negotiated and signed in Arusha, Tanzania, in August 2000. It guaranteed representation in state institutions for the different ethnic segments and provided for the establishment of a broad-based coalition government.This study aims at examining the institution of Ubushingantahe (I.B.) after an in-depth analysis of the causes and actors of the various inter-Burundian conflicts related to elections from independence to the recent crisis of 2015 and to finally demonstrate that this institution could help to resolve the electoral conflicts that have plunged Burundi's social fabric into mourning and destruction for more than 50 years.