BUJUMBURA, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- The National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) of Burundi has announced that the presidential elections will be held on June 28, 2001.

According to a freshly published electoral calendar, the country will also organize local county council elections on May 21, elections for deputies on July 23 and the Senate elections on July 28.

CENI chief Pierre-Claver Ndayicariye said on Thursday that the elections would be called in a special decree by President Piere Nkuruzinza by April 6 and that the presidential vote would be done through universal adult suffrage.

Political party officials and the civil society organizations welcomed the publication of the electoral time-table, but termed it as a marathon process.

The publication of the calendar followed Tuesday's signing of financial aid of 14.5 million U. S. dollars granted by nine strategic partners to Burundi, including Belgium, China, Sweden, Norway, Britain, the Netherlands, Egypt, Switzerland and the United Nations Development Program.

The voter registration was scheduled for January 2010.