Presidential elections were held in Burundi on 1 June 1993 following the approval of a new constitution in a referendum the previous year. They were the first multi-party elections for the presidency, the only previous elections in 1984 having been held at a time when the country was a one-party state. They were also only the second contested national elections held in the country since independence in 1962.
This election was a watershed for Burundi. It represented the end of the military-backed Tutsi-dominated state that had been in place since 1966, and the first peaceful transfer of power in the country’s republican history.
Melchior Ndadaye's election victory put FRODEBU in prime position for a comfortable win in parliamentary election held on 29 June 1993.
Ndadaye was sworn in as the first Hutu president of Burundi on 10 July 1993. His rule would be short, however, as he was assassinated on 21 October 1993 during a military coup attempt by elements of the predominantly Tutsi army. Thereafter, the country plunged into a full-scale civil war that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
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