Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza on Friday was declared the outright winner of elections, handing him a third consecutive term at the helm of the central African nation despite opposition protests and international condemnation.
Nkurunziza won 69.41 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s polls, handing him an immediate first-round victory, the Burundian election commission said. He won 16 out of 18 provinces, with the other two taken by his closest rival, Agathon Rwasa — who won 18.99 percent — even though he had denounced the polls as illegitimate.
“We are very happy with this result,” said Pascal Nyabenda, the head of Nkurunziza’s ruling CNDD-FDD party, adding that the president would not be seeking a fourth term in 2020.
Photo: AFP
“These elections were well organized and took place in a situation of peace and security,” Nyabenda said. “I don’t know why a section of the international community say they were not credible. They were free, transparent and took place in security.”
Nkurunziza’s candidacy was condemned as unconstitutional by the opposition and provoked months of protests and an attempted coup in mid-May. His victory could trigger donor sanctions against the impoverished nation.
There are also widespread fears the country, situated in the heart of central Africa’s troubled Great Lakes region, could be plunged back into civil war.
“What has just happened is the climax of a coup d’etat against the constitution by President Nkurunziza,” prominent opposition leader Jean Minani said. “The opposition does not accept and will never accept that these were credible elections. We call on the international community not to recognize the results and to continue to push for real negotiations to prevent Burundi from going over the precipice.”
Although eight candidates were on the ballot paper for the presidential polls, most withdrew from the race, with the closure of most independent media preventing them from campaigning.
However, the election commission said that turnout in the polls was 73.44 percent.
Election observers from the East African Community, which tried but failed to mediate a solution to the crisis, also denounced the polls.
“The electoral process fell short of the principles and standards for holding free, fair, peaceful, transparent and credible elections,” observers from the regional body said in a statement, describing turnout as “low to average in most polling stations visited.”
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