The vote took place on Wednesday and the leader of parliament said the move would take place over three years.

The first to move will be the upper house of parliament, the Senate - starting on Friday.

President Pierre Nkurunziza, who has to sign off the change, promised in 2007 to move the capital, saying Gitega was geographically more centrally placed in Burundi, AFP reports.

Others have been more sceptical about the motives behind the move.

Journalist Abdi Latif Dahir suggests in an article on the Quartz news site that it could be linked to Bujumbura "increasingly being an opposition stronghold, leading to continued clashes between protesters and police".

Bujumbura will remain the economic capital of the country.