Indirect parliamentary elections were held in Burundi in 1957.
The Decree of 14 July 1952 by the Belgian authorities introduced an element of democracy to the Burundian political system. A complicated electoral system was created, which involved seven stages of elections to eventually elect the National Superior Council (French: Superieur du Pays).[1]
The elections began in the sub-chiefdoms, then were held in the chiefdoms, then the territories, and finally at the national level.[2]
The elections in the sub-chiefdoms in 1956, with the elections to the Chiefdom Councils, Territorial Councils and the Superior Council following in 1957.[3] The number of Tutsis elected to all bodies increased, whilst the number of elected Hutus decreased in comparison with the 1954 elections.[3]
| Council | Members | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hutus | Tutsis | Total | |||
| Elected | Unelected | Elected | Unelected | ||
| Sub-chiefdom councils | 2,240 | 0 | 1,134 | 530 | 3,904 |
| Chiefdom councils | 66 | 0 | 192 | 24 | 282 |
| Territorial councils | 12 | 0 | 56 | 24 | 92 |
| Superior Council | 0 | 2 | 29 | 31 | |
| align=left colspan=6 | Source: Sternberger et al. | ||||