Burundi's parliament will elect a new president Friday in what is widely considered the final step to end more than 13 years of civil war, dpa reported. Former Hutu rebel leader Pierre Nkurunziza will stand unopposed after his Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD) party won an overwhelming majority in parliamentary polls earlier this year, the international news agency said. Nkurinziza will be Burundi's first democratically elected president since the 1993 killing of then president Melchior Ndadaye. The killing sparked ethnic violence between the Hutus and the Tutsi-dominated government that lasted over a decade during which more than 300,000 people were killed, the dpa added. The Tutsis, who make up only 14 per cent of the Burundian population, have held power for most of the years since the country's independence from Belgium in 1962. According to Burundi's 2003 peace agreement, the new parliament is to be apportioned in a ratio of 60 to 40 between Hutu and Tutsi deputies. The FDD said it wants to promote reconciliation and rebuild the country's shattered economy after 12 years of ethnic conflict. --SP 1508 Local Time 1208 GMT
