Woman elected speaker of lower house

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

BUJUMBURA-- Burundi's parliament voted on Tuesday to elect Immaculee Nahayo, of the Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie-Forces pour la défense de la démocratie (CNDD-FDD) party, as the speaker of the lower chamber of parliament.

Nahayo, elected by 107 votes to three, with six abstentions, becomes the first woman in the country's history to hold the position.

She replaces Jean Minani, who chaired the national assembly in the preceding parliament.

Following her election, Nahayo urged legislators to return to their respective constituencies to be as close as possible to the people who elected them.

"I only want to see you during the national assembly sessions," she said, adding that she wanted to break with the tradition of their predecessors, who were accused of rarely visiting their electorates.