Section 1: Summary and Background

1. PROJECT TITLE: Enhancing democracy in BURUNDI through inclusive and

transparent elections

2. PROJECT SUMMARY
Since the declaration of democracy in 1993, BURUNDI has held five national elections that have
become increasingly competitive, including those held in Mai 2020. Presidents have respected
term limits, and incumbents who lost re-election have peacefully conceded. Television, radio,
newspapers, and online media express diverse and critical perspectives. Elections process has
improved, because in the past Burundi knew the governance of the nominated kings. Budget
transparency and respect for human rights have also improved. Even though this progress is seen
in these elections, immense and dangerous democratic challenges remain and affecting the
citizens of BURUNDI. Elections are marked by violence, lack of transparency and irregularities.
Harmful corruption, suspicious electoral process, poor public service delivery, and economic
challenges undermine the state’s legitimacy. Citizens of the country are asked money to
contribute in the elections, terrorism, bandits, and secessionists challenging government
authority. Civil society activists can face harassment and intimidation when they criticize
democratic and governance deficiencies. Following all these issues said above, considering the
period of elections in Burundi, we saw that a legislative system in Burundi is weak. For this, the
project will be in education format. Toward that end, programs will train members in political
skill including registered voters and, communicate with them about the general electorate. In
fact, BURUNDI is in the time of elections from Mai 2025 till December 2027.We are planning
to host as many as possible seminars in all provinces of the country educating the governments
members and voters the value of the transparent and democratic elections.

3. PROJECT BACKGROUND.

Burundi had democratic status in 1993 when Melchior NDADAYE fought for it.After the
declaration of democracy; he became the first elected President in Burundi. From that time
Burundi knew the electoral system in order to have leaders, from the President till to the little
chief of the quarter. It is from that democracy that BURUNDI had multiplicity of political
parties. In Burundi there are 37 political parties. All these parties have the right to participate in
the elections and this would be a good action to show that in the country there is democracy.
Anyway, the situation is not the same. In Burundi, the political landscape is not fully conducive
to inclusive elections.Some parties are not allowed to participate in the elections, and when they
ask why they are not allowed the electoral commission does not explain clearly. Some voters are
not allowed to vote in on other hands they leaders use children under permitted age to vote (18
years old). Elections are marked by violence, lack of transparency and irregularities. Harmful
corruption, suspicious electoral process, poor public service delivery, and economic challenges
undermine the state’s legitimacy. Citizens of the country are asked money to contribute in the
elections, terrorism, bandits, and secessionists challenging government authority

The overall objective of the project is to promote the democratic electoral culture, develop civic skills
that will lead to competent and responsible participation of all social groups in elections.

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Promotion of the democratic culture will be done through the increase the competence of voters and
future voters on electoral rights and democratic processes so that the former is seen not as possibility
but as a necessity in a democratic society.
The development of the civic skills will be done through the enrichment of electoral culture of various
groups. The impact of the project will be measured sociological tools such as surveys, focus groups
and tracking of case studies. It will also look at the ways of measuring behavior change especially
though the analysis of various aspects of the outcome of the local elections to take place in 2025 and
2027.
As the project will bear a significant emphasis on electoral rights of underrepresented groups, it also
intends to contribute to the development of a comprehensive report on the level of accessibility of
polling station that would set the baseline for the work of public local authorities in reasonably
accommodating the polling stations so that all political parties, all voters to increasingly engage in
electoral processes. In the same stream of activities, this project will develop a guide on inclusion in
electoral processes of persons with all disabilities. The guide will encompass a roadmap on the actions
needed from various stakeholders starting form high level authorities and finishing with public local
authorities on how through using human rights based approach to various administrative processes
mainstream inclusion in the electoral processes. Based on the assessment and the guide, a range of
capacity building activities will take place. The project will contribute to preparing people to become
active and competent voters through building the capacities of the change agents to promote the idea
of democratic culture. It will contribute also to influence the policy makers to accept participation of
all political parties, all voters and to make elections transparent. The change agents that the project will
work with will be the university students because they are affected by restriction to vote most of time
(case of denying KAMENGE Campus students to vote in 2020) and woman and youth members of
political parties as well as local public authorities. This project will help to engage in efficient
communication activities targeting the public and contributing to the increase of level of knowledge
and awareness about electoral process. As one of the maim actors in promoting the concept of
democratic culture is the mass media the project will support the development of targeted mass media
products oriented at analyzing the topics related broadly to electoral processes and more narrowly to
the participation of underrepresented groups at different stages of the electoral processes. The
intervention will also focus at developing and implementing the informative and outreach campaigns
that will use inventive approaches such as organization of discussions and consultations with the
electoral candidates for the upcoming local elections to mainstream rights of vulnerable groups
(underrepresented political parties,non authorized voters and ethnic groups),extracurricular activities
for youth such as youth camps to contribute to increase in civic engagement amongst the target groups.

It will also target persons residing in rural areas and the youth that reside abroad persons of 18-
35 years of age. Youth that reside abroad form an important part of the diaspora. Targeting them
through the informative and awareness rising campaigns will contribute to a more active and
responsible engagement of the diaspora in the processes that take place in the country, besides
going to polling stations when the general Parliamentarian elections take place. The youth will
get more engaged in the democratic processes at the local level and participate in the public

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matters between the general elections cycles. Also, constantly informing them will help to a
smoother social reintegration when they decide to return to the country.

4. ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND

Our Organization is named LMAC (Libertarian Movement Anti-malversation and economic

Crimes).Till now, it works officially in BURUNDI but, as we target to create other agencies
in the entire Africa, we add African and qualify it as African Libertarian Movement Anti-
malversation and economic Crimes It is a nonprofit and non-government Organization and
we work with individual contribution till now. Our organization has been created in 2020 and
began to work officially the same year. In addition, the organization had been registered and
got a permit to work officially the same year. Anyway, we changed some of our principles
and this pushed the organization to renew our registration in this year of 2025.But this didn`t
affect our organization, till now we have the permission to work officially. From the year of
creation, LMAC had hosted many events, seminars in order to accomplish our mission. Our
mission is Increasing African prosperity by strengthening principles of non-embezzlement
and economic freedom .In 2020, we launched the project named DON`T GIVE DON`T
TAKE. With which, we were advocating against corruption which was seen in the public
institutions of BURUNDI. Now the Corruption Index shows that the rate of corruption in
Burundi had decreased till to 5%. In 2021, we launched another project named MORE
TAXES KILL TAXES. With this project, we remarked that many of the Burundian
entrepreneurs were closing because of high taxes on their business. They were charged three
different taxes: Daily taxes, weekly taxes and OBR (Burundi Revenue Authority) charges
to pay every three months. We launched this project, we gathered together the
entrepreneurs, we asked them about their businesses, their failures and we collected their
testimonies. After, we brought these testimonies in the seminars we held in all provinces with
policymakers, we showed them the issue which is hindering entrepreneurship in BURUNDI.
Now, the daily taxes are canceled, the weekly tax is canceled. There remain OBR registration
and we are asking to decrease the fees paid in order to accelerate entrepreneurs. In 2023, we
saw that in the country there is a lack of fuel due to the government monopoly. The
government has the institution which import fuel and this became an issue because no
member of the government can govern and do business. For this, we advocated against this
monopoly and we show the government members that the businessmen would have the right
to import fuel themselves. Due to our limited resources, we have visited only 10 provinces in
18 provinces that we have but we hope that this issue will also end because we will continue
it. Our organization has 6 paid staff working full time, 4 paid working part time and 15
volunteers. We work on the entire territory of BURUNDI in all 18 provinces. This proposed
project will be carried out by 6 staff as seen in the chart:

Full name Qualification

1.Egide NDUWAYO CEO of the organization(control all the
activities of the organization).Holds the
Master Diploma in Social Sciences
2.Lionel NIZIGIYIMANA Assistant to CEO. Assists CEO in all
activities. Holds the Bachelor Diploma in
Arts

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 3.Thibilisse NKURUNZIZA Projects Manager and Secretary. He holds
Bachelor Diploma in Business
Administration and he is following Master
Studies in the same department.
4.Octavie NGABIREYIMANA An accountant. She holds Bachelor Diploma
in Economy
5.Evode NZOJIYOBIRI Technology Director. He holds Bachelor
Diploma in Technological Sciences
6.Laurence CIMPAYE Marketing and communication Manager.
She has bachelor Diploma in Journalism
studies

NOTE: Our organization till now has not been funded by any organization. All the projects
we launched, we used individual contributions and individual donations.

Section 2: Objectives, Activities, Evaluation Plan

5 OBJECTIVES (1-2 paragraphs or bullet points)

- General Objective | Global :

Contribute to access to good and transparent elections for the inhabitants of Burundi through
a system of electoral democracy culture.

- Specifiques Objectives:

1. Increase electoral democracy in BURUNDI by 95% by the end of 2027

2. Strengthening the capacities of 6.000.000 registered voters including decision-makers and

members of political parties to become agents of change by the end of December 2027.

3. Establish a system of electoral democracy culture that meets the needs of the population,
which will authorize all 6.000.000 persons to vote and the voices counted publically by end
of December 2027.

6 ACTIVIES
.

The above Objectives will be achieved through the following outputs and activities:

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Output Activity Participants Expected knowledge gained Duration

1.Agents of change I: -Assess the current University -Participants: Students of Attendees will reinforce their From 2025 – 2027
such as University educational with electoral each university allowed to knowledge about rights to
students have their programs in 18 Universities in vote vote and they will get enough
knowledge broadened on all provinces of the country ;( knowledge of the democratic
democratic and electoral -Specialists in the law election.
lectures about electoral process
processes (judges, lawyers,…..)
and rights and open discussions.
After formulation of -Media: Results will be
recommendations). published
CIVIC EDUCATION

2. .Agents of change II: - Deliver training and awareness -All registered persons to -Attendees will have the solid From2025-2027
voters, members of raising activities to enhance the vote knowledge to avoid fear of
political parties, have knowledge on electoral voting according to their will.
their knowledge -Members of political parties This will push them to
processes of political parties’
broadened on democratic youth and adults’ wings on civil -Invited specialists from the become change-makers.
and electoral processes. and political rights of the most National Electoral
vulnerable persons.( lectures Commission
about electoral process and -Media
rights and open discussions.
After formulation of
recommendations)

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 CIVIC EDUCATION

3. The level of -Inequalities during elections, -Policymakers -Attendees (policymakers) -From 2025-2027
knowledge and affects the society of BURUNDI will receive the
awareness of the public is -The specialists who collected recommendations about
and it’s manifesting itself the recommendations from
enhanced around including at the level having issues which hinder
democratic and electoral unrepresented groups of transparency of elections
rights to vote. Therefore, at the voters.
processes by bringing third level, we will target including (violence, lack of
electoral issues on the -Journalists of different radios transparency and
policymakers and show them the
agenda for ongoing working in Burundi(Public irregularities, harmful
recommendations of
public discussions and and Private) corruption, suspicious
improving the underrepresented groups in electoral process, poor public
Communication Strategy accessing the system of service delivery, and
democratic culture. . (Lectures economic challenges
about electoral process and undermine the state’s
rights of voters and open legitimacy).We believe that
discussions. After, we will have there will be a change after
reactions from the government) receiving all these
recommendations.

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 NOTE: -Our project is a long-term project all the activities will last two years following the agenda of the elections which begin from
2025 till 2027.
-This means that the duration of all activities is 2 years,
-We will use as many days as possible because it is an intensive program which will be done regularly:
1. Visits (events) in universities 18 events (=18 days)
2. Visits (events with voters in all 18 provinces and 119 communes of the country) = 119 days
3. Meetings (events with policymakers of all 18 provinces) =18 days
4. We will invite attendees according the area that we will visit but our target number of participants is all registered persons: Around
6.000.000 persons
5. We have not yet got any other funding

7 EVALUATION PLAN

These below evaluations points will be indicated by surveys results, attendance lists, photos of the events and testimonies of the
population though the regular reports that will be provided,quarterly,annually.There will be progressive(periodic) reports and post-
project final report

Objectives Evaluation points

1.Increase electoral democracy in BURUNDI by 95% by the end of 2027 -Increase voter turnout from 50% in 2025 to 95% in 2027
-Insure at least that 35 political parties can contest elections freely.
-Achieve high ratings for transparency from at least two international
monitoring bodies through surveys.
2. Strengthening the capacities of 6.000.000 registered voters including
decision-makers and members of political parties to become agents of - 6.000.000 registered voters will be trained(attendance lists)
change by the end of December 2027. -80% of trained decision-makers will implement change-oriented
policies.
-100 political party members will lead community initiatives.
- 4.000.000 of registered voters will influence local governance
through advocacy and participation in public forums.
-Advocacy feedback from political party members on their ability to
mobilize communities
3.Establish a system of electoral democracy culture that meets the needs of -100% registered voters are eligible to vote.

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the population, which will authorize all 6.000.000 persons to vote and the -Zero complaint and irregularity will be reported during voter
voices counted publically by end of December 2027 registration and voting counting.
-At least 119 surveys report of the population reporting trust in the
electoral system.
-At least two international bodies will follow live-stream counting
-At least 18 media will report the results about the live-stream results.

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 Section 4: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

8 ORGANIZATION REFERENCES

Full name Organization Title Phone Email

Number
Rania DUSABE Students For National +25761050415 rdusabe@studentsforliberty.org
Liberty(SFL) Coordinator
Belyi Nobel Free Tech Institute CEO +25771475533 kbelynobel@gmail.com
KUBWAYO

Note: We don`t have any relationship with these references excepted that we invited them
during our former events we hosted. They can testify our activities.
.

9. BOARD CONTACTS

Full name Title Paid or not

1.Lionel NIZIGIYIMANA Head of the Board Paid
2.Come NDACAYISABA Vice Board Head Paid
3..Thibilisse NKURUNZIZA Secretary of the Board Paid
4.Octavie NGABIREYIMANA Member Paid
5.Evode NZOJIYOBIRI Member Paid
6.Laurence CIMPAYE Member Paid

Along with the proposal narrative, you must also prepare a project budget. The budget
is the financial description of the proposed project and should relate directly to the
description of project activities in the narrative proposal. Use the budget template provided
on the website.

PROPOSAL BUDGET

What are allowable budget items for a NED-funded project?

Review the categories below to determine which items are allowable in a NED budget.

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NOTE: Not all budgets will contain entries under each of the categories listed below. Please
only use those categories that relate to expected costs of the activities described in the Proposal
Narrative.

SALARIES

Includes employees of the organization working on NED projects during the grant period.
Budget should show the titles of those employees to be paid and indicate the percentage of time
devoted to project and duration (months) of total annual salary that NED funds will cover.

Not included are consultant fees, honoraria, temporary services, and other fees for services. (See
additional categories below.)

BENEFITS, TAXES AND ALLOWANCES

Includes actual known costs of fringe benefits provided by the employer. Examples may include
health insurance, life insurance, social security (employer’s share), disability insurance, pension
plan, vacation, holiday, sick leave pay, and 13th month pay (for countries where it is applicable).

Not included are US federal and state income taxes withheld (these are part of the employee's
salary).

OFFICE SPACE AND UTILITIES

Includes rental costs of organization’s office space and utilities such as electricity, gas, oil, and
water. The amounts for rent and utilities should be shown separately and include the monthly
costs and how many months the space will be rented or utilities budgeted.

Not included is rent of space to hold meetings or conferences (this goes under Other Direct
Costs).

EQUIPMENT (OVER $5,000)

Includes purchase of equipment for use in the project. Each item costing more than $5,000
should be listed separately and the price per unit indicated.

The equipment budget should include the costs for accessories, transportation of equipment, in-
transit insurance, taxes, and installation.

Not included are costs for rented or leased equipment (these go under Contractual Services),
except for rental or lease of vehicles for travel for a specific programmatic event which may go
under Travel & Per Diem.

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TRAVEL AND PER DIEM

Includes airfare, per diem, and other travel costs for travel on official business related to the
project (including travel by consultants). The budget should separate international and domestic
travel. Please note the following definitions:

International Travel: travel between any two countries.

Domestic Travel: travel entirely within one country.
Local Travel: travel within a single city or its immediate surrounding areas (or suburbs).
Per Diem: lodging + meals and incidentals (Incidentals includes laundry costs, small
personal items such as tooth paste, shampoo, soap, etc.)
Other Travel Costs: visas, airport tax, inoculations.

Each international trip should be listed separately, indicating the airfare (including origin and
destination cities, if known. Otherwise, list country, region, or continent), the per diem
(Lodging, Meals & incidentals), (indicating number of days for the trip and the proposed per
diem rate), and other travel costs, such as local or in-country domestic travel.
CONTRACTUAL/CONSULTANT SERVICES

Includes any services that will be provided on a contract basis, including honoraria, temporary
personnel services, translation services, rented or leased equipment, audit fees, legal fees,
accounting services (if performed by an outside contractor rather than by staff). Be sure to
provide sufficient detail so that it is clear exactly what the contract is for.

Includes hourly or daily fee (8-hour day) paid to consultants hired under written agreements.
The budget should specify the number of days to be worked. The daily fee should be determined
according to the qualifications and previous salary history of the individual, and the nature and
scope of the service required. Consultant fees in excess of reasonable rate require additional
justification and prior approval. Consultants' expenses may include communications and postage
and clerical help directly related to the consultant's efforts.

A SINGLE INDIVIDUAL MAY NOT RECEIVE COMPENSATION FROM BOTH SALARY

AND CONTRACTUAL/CONSULTANT SERVICES.

OTHER DIRECT COSTS

Includes items by major type such as supplies and small equipment, printing costs,
communications, meeting and conference expenses (room rental, conference snacks and meals,
audio visual services, interpretation, etc.). Please note to detail your publishing/printing costs in
your budget. Smaller items in this category may include reference materials and bank service
charges.

SUBRECIPIENT(S)

Subrecipient is an organization that receives funds from a NED grantee. If you have
subrecipients for this project, fill in all fields in this subsection. If the subrecipient will receive

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more than $25,000 USD, the detailed budget of the proposed support should be provided in the
proposal, using the same line items as described above. The NED grant recipient is responsible
for verifying expenditures of subrecipients.

If known and applicable, please provide the following information if your organization will be
providing funds from the proposed grant to any other organization(s):
 Subrecipient Organization Name
 Amount
 Contact Name
 Position Title
 Contact Method (Email or Phone)

ITEMS NOT ALLOWABLE IN NED GRANTS

The list of items not allowable includes, but is not limited to, the following:

 Entertainment, gifts, gratuities, donations, alcoholic beverages, fines, and penalties.

 Activities involving physical violence by any individual, group, or government.
 Costs related to campaigns of candidates for public office.
 Lobbying directed at influencing public policy decisions of local, state, or federal
governments in the US.
 Costs related to education, training, or informing US audiences of any partisan policy or
practice or candidate for office.
 Activities unlawful under local, state, or federal governments in the US
 Individuals who receive a salary from their national government may not also receive a
salary in full or in part from NED funds.
 “Miscellaneous” and “Contingency” costs.

Please see the Sample Budget for examples.

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