Latest news with #BurundiElections
Zawya
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Burundi: Elections Without Opposition
Legislative and local elections in Burundi on June 5, 2025, took place in a context of severely restricted free speech and political space, Human Rights Watch said today. The Independent National Electoral Commission (Commission électorale nationale indépendante, CENI) announced on June 11 during a press conference that the ruling party had won 96.5 percent of votes and all elected national assembly seats. The ruling party also won almost every seat in the commune-level election. Ruling party officials and youths intimidated, harassed, and threatened the population and censored media coverage to secure a landslide victory. 'Burundians voted in an atmosphere devoid of genuine political competition as the ruling party further consolidated power,' said Clémentine de Montjoye, senior Great Lakes researcher at Human Rights Watch. 'Against a backdrop of growing discontent over a deepening economic crisis and systemic human rights failings, the ruling party took no chances in the elections.' The National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie-Forces pour la défense de la démocratie, CNDD–FDD), in power since 2005, has sought to dismantle all meaningful opposition, including from its main rival, the National Congress for Freedom (Congrès national pour la liberté, CNL). Several opposition parties, including the CNL, the Patriots' Council (Conseil des Patriotes, CDP), and the Union for National Progress (Union pour le progrès national, UPRONA) denounced irregularities in the vote. Senatorial and further local elections are scheduled for July 23 and August 25, respectively, and the next presidential polls will be in 2027. In the days following the vote, Human Rights Watch spoke with local activists, journalists, private citizens, and a member of the ruling party's youth league – the Imbonerakure – who spoke of intimidation and irregularities in both the lead-up to the election and during the voting. Media reports and witness accounts indicate that the voting on June 5 was overwhelmingly dominated by the ruling party. 'The Imbonerakure were in front of the polling station telling people to vote for the ruling party,' said a voter in the town of Bururi. 'All the workers at the polling station were members of the ruling party. The head of the polling station himself told me to vote for the ruling party.' People interviewed in Bujumbura, the country's largest city, Cibitoke, and Rumonge described similar scenes at their polling places. A Burundian civil society organization reported the same patterns in Bubanza, Gitega, Makamba, and Ngozi. 'We were told to do everything necessary to make sure that people only voted for the CNDD-FDD,' the Imbonerakure member said. Opposition parties and witnesses said that opposition party representatives, journalists, and observers were prevented from entering polling places, including when votes were being counted. In several communes (municipalities), the number of votes cast reportedly exceeded the number of registered voters. Media and witnesses also reported ballot stuffing and the selective distribution of voter cards, excluding opposition members from voting. A coalition of radio stations, television channels, and print or online media outlets coordinated coverage of the elections, reportedly funded by the Ministry of Communication, Information Technology and Media, and all content produced had to be submitted to a central editorial team, which censored reports that did not align with the official narrative, media reported. A journalist told Human Rights Watch that officials of the electoral body told the media 'not to talk about irregularities.' In December, the electoral commission barred opposition candidates, including members of the opposition Burundi for All (Burundi Bwa Bose in Kirundi) coalition and the CNL, from contesting the June elections, effectively sidelining major opposition voices. Some were able to appeal the decision at the Constitutional Court, but presidential runner-up and former leader of the CNL, Agathon Rwasa, was among those still barred from running. In January 2024, the interior minister accused the CNL of collaborating with a terrorist organization, after which the party's general assembly voted to remove Rwasa from leadership. In April 2024, Burundi adopted a new electoral code that significantly raised candidate registration fees and imposed a two-year waiting period for those leaving political parties before they can run again, effectively ensuring that Rwasa would not be eligible. The authorities, aided by the Imbonerakure, forced the population to register to vote in late 2024, according to media reports and witness accounts. 'The population wanted to show that they don't see the point in this election, and tried to boycott the registration process,' said an observer in Cibitoke. 'They were forced [to register], prevented from accessing markets, healthcare centers, administrative services or going to the fields. The Imbonerakure were everywhere to intimidate people.' The African Union deployed an observation mission and issued a preliminary report on June 7 praising the 'peaceful' conduct of Burundi's legislative and communal elections. It also praised high voter turnout, the 'climate of freedom and transparency,' and media coverage. This stands in stark contrast to the AU's own normative framework on democracy, elections, and human rights, which emphasizes credible, inclusive, and transparent electoral processes. The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and the Economic Community of Central African States also deployed observer missions. The Catholic Church, which has criticized previous elections, deployed observers but some were turned away from polling places. General elections in May 2020 took place in a highly repressive environment, marred by allegations of irregularities. Throughout the pre-election period, Imbonerakure members committed widespread abuses, especially against people perceived to be against the ruling party, including killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, beatings, extortion, and intimidation. Burundians have told Human Rights Watch that they feel growing frustration at the ruling party's governance, at a time when the population is facing a 40 percent annual inflation rate, chronic shortages, significant discrepancies between official and unofficial exchange rates, limited foreign currency reserves, and a fuel crisis that has crippled transport for years. The escalating conflict in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, which has jeopardized cross-border trade and prompted the arrival of over 70,000 refugees and asylum seekers since January 2025, as well as cuts in donor funding have further compounded the situation. In February, Burundian authorities expelled the director and security officer of the United Nations World Food Programme from the country, after they reportedly advised staff to stock up on essential goods. Civil society and opposition figures continue to report ongoing harassment, extortion, arbitrary detention, and beatings by the Imbonerakure and the authorities as the government remains deeply hostile to perceived criticism. Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Burundi is a party, states, 'Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity … [t]o vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors.' 'Burundi's democracy has been hollowed out, with a ruling party unaccountable to its people and unwilling to tolerate dissent, even as economic desperation grows,' de Montjoye said. 'Without credible opposition, this election only further entrenches authoritarian rule and pushes Burundians further into a deeply rooted governance crisis.' Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Human Rights Watch (HRW).
News.com.au
05-06-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Burundi votes but with opposition neutered
Burundi votes for a new parliament on Thursday but with little risk of an upset after the main opposition was effectively barred from running. The impoverished, landlocked country in east Africa has seen decades of ethnic violence, civil war and authoritarian rule. The ruling CNDD-FDD party of President Evariste Ndayishimiye is accused of undermining its main opponent, the National Freedom Council (CNL), which came second at the last election in 2020 and claimed it was cheated. In 2023, the interior ministry suspended the CNL over "irregularities" in the way it organised its meetings. Then last year, the CNL ousted its leader, former militia commander-turned-politician Agathon Rwasa, while he was abroad. He was replaced by someone considered close to the ruling party, Nestor Girukwishaka, a former minister and senior executive at a state-owned company -- in what critics described as a government-orchestrated coup. The government then passed new rules that effectively barred Rwasa and his allies from joining other opposition parties or standing as independents. A Burundian analyst, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, said the ruling party was taking no chances because the elections were taking place amid "a very deep socio-economic crisis". The analyst said the country was facing "all sorts of shortages, galloping inflation of more than 40 percent per month and growing popular discontent". - 'Very difficult for us' - President Ndayishimiye took over following the death of his predecessor, Pierre Nkurunziza, who had isolated the country with his brutal and chaotic rule since 2005. While Ndayishimiye has been seen as relatively less authoritarian, Burundi's human rights record remains poor, with journalists, activists and opposition figures all facing severe repression. One of the candidates for Thursday's election, Patrick Nkurunziza -- no relation to the previous president -- of the opposition coalition Burundi for All, told AFP the campaign had been "very difficult for us". He said his members faced "threats, harassment and sometimes even attacks" from a government-aligned youth league known as the Imbonerakure. A group of media executives last month accused the Imbonerakure of arresting and torturing a journalist while he tried to work at the University of Burundi in the capital Bujumbura. A fuel shortage that has largely paralysed the country for nearly three years also made it difficult for opposition candidates to operate, said Nkurunziza. "In the absence of Agathon Rwasa's CNL, the CNDD-FDD is sure to win," said the analyst. Most of the other candidates are "token candidates, who are there just to show that democracy is still happening in Burundi", they added. Burundi experienced decades of ethnic violence and civil war up to 2005. Under a peace agreement signed in 2000, seats in the parliament are split 60-40 between the two ethnic groups, Hutu and Tutsi. Burundi remains one of the world's poorest countries with almost two-thirds living below the World Bank's poverty line of $2.15 per day.
BBC News
05-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Burundi elections: Ruling party seeks to tighten grip on power
Voters in Burundi are heading to the polls amid a backdrop of surging inflation, fuel shortages and complaints of political in the National Assembly, Senate and local councils are up for grabs but Évariste Ndayishimiye is safe in his role as president as he is serving a seven-year term that ends in elections will test the popularity of the governing CNDD-FDD party, a former rebel group which has been in power for the past 20 East African nation was already one of the world's poorest countries, but residents there have been put under further pressure by a recent spike in the price of goods such as food. Opposition parties have complained that their supporters have been harassed and intimidated by members of the CNDD-FDD's youth league, the Banzawitonde, leader of the APDR party, said: ''People are so intimidated that they tell you they cannot wear any party colours other than the ruling ones'.But he said they were not giving in and "once in the voting booth, they promise to vote for you".Several political analysts approached by the BBC declined to talk about the elections for fear of repercussions. One expert, who did not want to be named, said: "To avoid unnecessary trouble, you keep quiet."''We pointed out from the start that everything was being tailor-made [to fit the ruling party]," they said, suggesting that a CNDD-FDD win was a done some party officials have even been suggesting that a one-party system may be beneficial for the weekend, secretary-general Reverien Ndikuriyo told supporters that "to reach development, all countries started by having a single party''.Even though this is not historically accurate, the president has also made similar claims."Yes, when it becomes single [the only party], we'll reach development,'' Ndikuriyo he confusingly added: "'Don't let foreigners infiltrate you [and tell you] that the party wants to be single."Chronic shortages of foreign currency, which is needed for imports such as medicine and fuel, have led to a decline in Burundi's economic say that Burundi now runs on less than one month's-worth of foreign currency reserves for imports, while the regional standard is to have at least four of cars stretching from service stations for around 100m (330ft) have become a common sight. They often last for days or weeks as motorists wait for fuel, which is being rationed by the to the World Bank, the annual domestic income of an average Burundian in 2023 was $193 (£142), the lowest within the East African Community trade Ndikumana, an economist and anti-corruption activist, believes Burundi's situation will not improve any time soon. ''Good governance has to be established. We're not there yet,'' he told the the governing party and its leader hold an opposing Ndayishimiye has said residents of Bujumbura, Burundi's largest city, "looked bad in 2005" but now "had money to buy shoes, new clothes and to build a house''.And the CNDD-FDD often responds to criticism by reminding Burundians that the party fought for the Hutu ethnic group - who make up the majority of the population - to access power, after four decades of what they considered as oppression by the minority Tutsis. More BBC stories on Burundi: Rwanda planning to attack Burundi, president tells BBC'Mpox made my throat so painful I couldn't sleep'Burundi leader to get $530,000 and luxury villa Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
