Burundians yesterday voted for a new parliament after a night of sporadic blasts and gunshots, and weeks of violent protests against Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term in office.
Many polling stations opened late for the first in a series of elections boycotted by the opposition, who say the president’s move violates the constitution.
Despite mounting international criticism, the government has pressed on with the parliamentary vote and its plan for a presidential race on July 15, amid the deepest political crisis since an ethnically charged civil war ended in 2005.
Photo: AFP
More than 125,000 people, or more than 1 percent of the nation’s 10 million population, have fled across the border.
Sounds of shooting and at least two blasts were heard overnight in the capital Bujumbura.
A witness reported one blast in Bujumbura’s restive Musaga district yesterday morning.
The private Iwacu newspaper cited police on its Web site saying two grenades exploded in Mayuyu district, about 25km southeast of the capital.
The president cites a court ruling saying he can run for a third term and has refused to back down, prompting opposition parties to say they would boycott all the polls.
Aimable Niyonkuru, 20, once a supporter of Nkurunziza’s CNDD-FDD party, said he would not vote in yesterday’s polls because the president had not improved the economy or delivered on other promises.
African states and Western donors had called for dialogue and a delay to voting. The African Union on Sunday said it would not send observers as it did not believe voting would be free or fair.
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