Vote counting was under way in Burundi yesterday, the day after a presidential election marred by violence and international condemnation that is expected to see Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza win a controversial third term.
Results from the polls, which has been condemned as illegitimate by the international community after sparking months of deadly violence that forced tens of thousands to flee the country, are expected by the end of today.
Burundian Electoral Commission president Pierre-Claver Ndayicariye said that about 74 percent of the country’s 3.8 million registered voters cast ballots, comparable with last month’s general elections, despite a boycott from opposition lawmakers.
Photo: AFP
At least two people — a policeman and a civilian — were killed overnight before the polls opened on Tuesday in what Nkurunziza’s chief communications adviser called “terrorist acts” aimed at “intimidating voters.”
Ndayicariye said turnout was depressed in Bururi Province and Bujumbura, the epicenter of three months of anti-government protests where gunfire and grenade blasts could be heard as polls opened.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged calm, calling on all sides to “refrain from any acts of violence that could compromise the stability of Burundi and the region.”
The US on Tuesday said the Burundian government’s refusal to delay the vote threatened its legitimacy and risked “unraveling the fragile progress” made by the peace deal that ended more than a decade of civil war and ethnic massacres in 2006.
Opposition and civil society groups have denounced Nkurunziza’s candidacy as unconstitutional, while international observers have said the elections are not free and fair.
A journalist said there were irregularities at polling stations in the capital, including blank tally sheets being signed before counting began.
State radio said an election official was arrested after being caught stuffing a ballot box at a polling station outside the capital.
The 51-year-old president — a former rebel, Christian and soccer fan — faced no serious competition, but critics say a win by the incumbent will be a hollow victory, leaving him ruling over a deeply divided nation.
Although eight candidates are on the ballot paper, most have already withdrawn from the race and those remaining are not seen as having a chance, as the unrest and the closure of most independent media have stopped them campaigning. Key opposition leader Agathon Rwasa did not formally withdraw, but said the election could not be free or fair and did not attempt to win votes.
The International Crisis Group think tank has warned that the situation has all the ingredients to plunge Burundi into civil war.
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