Joseph Ntakirutimana of Burundi’s ruling party deputy secretary-general has been elected the Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA).
Ntakirutimana won after 54 members out of the 63 voted for him, while one voted against him. Eight votes were invalid. To emerge as Speaker of the EALA one must secure at least 42 votes.
“We found that Burundi joined (EALA) before us and we decided, for the unity and working together, to let Burundi go through. This decision will bring harmony and come 2027, Burundi will support us,” said Dr Ann Itto, one of the South Sudanese candidates.
For the last 30 years, Ntakirutimana has served as a senator and a member of parliament having emerged as a parliamentarian in 1993.
“This is the place (Arusha) where we signed my country’s agreement…got me from being a cleaner and refugee [to] be a member of the parliament,” said the new EALA Speaker.
He is the 6th speaker of the regional assembly since its establishment in 2001. He takes over from Rwanda’s Martin Ngoga whose tenure ended on December 17, 2022.