Latest news with #Burundians
Morocco World
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
Burundi's President Ndayishimiye Wins 100% of Seats in National Vote
Rabat – President Evariste Ndayishimiye's CNDD-FDD party has secured 100% of the seats in the vote for the national legislative assembly. The election results were announced on Wednesday, June 11, by the electoral commission. This vote has been termed by opposition parties as the 'death' of Burundian democracy. The ruling party has won the election, despite the country currently being in an economic crisis with chronic shortages and rising inflation. This is despite the electoral commission stating that no fraud was uncovered, and the President's party winning 100% of the vote in many electoral districts. This election has been seen as the end of democracy in this African nation. Ndayishimiye has been the president of the African state since 2020, following the death of Pierre Nkurunziza, who served as the ninth president of Burundi for almost 15 years from August 2005 until his death in June 2020 Observers have criticized Ndayishimiye consistently for human rights abuses. Burundians went to the polls to vote for the new National Assembly on 5 June. The number of seats in the National Assembly is around 103. Many observers criticized the election for the tightly controlled element of the government, and the opposition has been constrained. Some opposition parties were banned from participation, such as the main opposition party, the National Council for Liberty. Many people in the country felt forced to vote during the election, and several journalists and voters had said that they were in fear for their safety. This is in comparison to the statement given by the president, saying that 'democracy is rooted in Burundi.' On Wednesday, June 11, the electoral commission announced the provisional election results, and unsurprisingly, the CNDD-FDD party won with 96.51%. No other opposition party was able to reach the two percent electoral threshold to gain seats in the National Assembly; therefore, the CNDD-FDD has won 100% of the seats. The final result will be certified at the constitutional court on June 20. International observers and opposition parties have expressed disbelief and anger, rejecting the election result. The leader of the Council of Patriots party stated that 'major fraud had been seen everywhere.' Olivier Nkurunziza, the leader of Uprona, said that the elections were 'rigged' and had 'killed democracy.' Tags: BurundiBurundi elections
Morocco World
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
Burundi Holds Legislative Elections Amid Tight Presidential Control
Burundians have gone to the polls on Thursday in a vote for the 123-seat National Legislative Assembly. This election is seen as a test of Evariste Ndayishimiye's presidency. Ndayishimiye has been the president of Burundi since the 2020 election. He secured the leadership of the ruling party CNDD-FDD after the death of previous president Pierre Nkurunziza. Despite being credited for ending Burundi's long period of isolationism, Ndayishimiye has been criticised for his poor human rights record. This election has been tightly controlled by the government as according to one commentator the government is taking no chances. The opposition has been constrained with popular opposition leader Agathon Rwasa being ousted while abroad in 2023. There have been multiple accusations that this was due to a government backed internal party coup d'etat. Many other opposition leaders have been banned from running in the election with rival parties constrained. Gabriel Banzawitonde, leader of the APDR, the alliance pour la paix la démocratie et la réconciliation, stated that 'people are so intimidated that they tell you that you cannot wear any party colours other than the ruling party ones'. Human rights observers have criticised the high-level of intimidation that voters have experienced particularly from the violent CNDD-FDD student organisation There remain several widespread issues within Burundi including, rising inflation to around 40%, chronic shortages in essentials like oil, and large levels of poverty at around 66%. This has led to growing popular dissatisfaction within the country. Despite this Ndayishimiye's party is almost certain to win the presidential election. While casting his ballot in Gitega province the president made a statement 'the population is driven by patriotic spirit, democracy is rooted in Burundi.' The president argued that the high voter turnout was a positive sign, but this might not be the case as one man stated that he was scared because 'some officials check if you have voted.' This election demonstrates clearly that Burundi is still an African one-party authoritarian dictatorship under President Ndayishimiye. Tags: Africa politicsBurundiBurundi electionslegislative electionspolitics
The Star
24-04-2025
- Politics
- The Star
South Sudan hosts over 550,000 refugees, asylum-seekers: UN
JUBA, April 24 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan hosts 552,333 refugees and asylum-seekers across 140,445 households, settled in 29 locations nationwide as of March, the United Nations refugee agency said on Thursday. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said this includes 548,430 registered refugees and 3,903 asylum-seekers. The UNHCR said the majority of the refugees and asylum-seekers are from neighboring Sudan, which has faced a two-year conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023. "The vast majority -- 94.9 percent (520,815 individuals) -- are Sudanese refugees, followed by populations from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the Central African Republic, and other nationalities," the UNHCR said in its latest report released in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. In response to the ongoing conflict in Sudan, the UNHCR said the South Sudanese government continues to grant prima facie refugee status to those fleeing the country. Among the refugees, 51 percent are women and 77 percent are women and children combined, according to the UN agency. It said the asylum-seeker population is smaller and has a distinct demographic profile, with Ethiopians comprising 35.8 percent and Eritreans 29.3 percent, followed by Burundians, Ugandans, and Congolese.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Burundi says Rwanda has a plan to attack it, Rwanda calls for calm
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Burundi's President Evariste Ndayishimiye said he had seen "credible intelligence" that Rwanda has a plan to attack his country, whose forces have battled Rwandan-backed rebels in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. He did not elaborate on the alleged plan, which was dismissed by Rwanda, and said he hoped the problem could be resolved through dialogue. "We know that he has a plan to attack Burundi," Ndayishimiye told the BBC in an interview, referring to Rwandan President Paul Kagame. "Burundians will not accept to be killed as Congolese are being killed. Burundian people are fighters," he said. Rwanda's foreign minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, described the statement as "unfortunate", adding in a post on X that the two countries were holding discussions and had agreed on the need for military and verbal de-escalation. Ndayishimiye's comments underscored the regional stakes of the conflict in eastern Congo, where an advance by M23 rebels since January has captured swathes of territory and killed thousands. A war in eastern Congo from 1998-2003 drew in more than half-dozen foreign armies. This time, Rwanda has sent arms and troops to support M23, according to the United Nations, while Burundian troops have been fighting alongside Congolese forces. Rwanda denies supporting M23, saying its forces are acting in self defence against Congo's army and militias hostile to Kigali. Burundi has had troops in Congo for years to hunt down Burundian rebels there. It withdrew most of its 12,000 troops from Congo in February, a Burundian officer and diplomatic sources told Reuters. Burundian and Rwandan officials have met several times in recent weeks and agreed for the Rwandan army and M23 not to occupy the Congolese territory of Uvira, which is close to Burundi's commercial capital Bujumbura, according to four sources with knowledge of the talks. The two countries have confirmed meetings have taken place, without going into specifics.
Euronews
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Burundi president claims Rwanda plans to incite war in his country
ADVERTISEMENT The president of Burundi has claimed that neighbouring Rwanda is planning to foment a conflict in his country, warning that it is backing a rebel group in an effort to destabilise its neighbour, citing "credible intelligence". In an interview with the BBC, President Évariste Ndayishimiye claimed that Rwanda's plan resembled what is happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where a long-established paramilitary rebel group, M23, has swept through key parts of the country in an effort to seize control. The group is widely thought to be supported by Rwanda, which denies taking any direct role in the conflict. In his interview, Ndayishimiye claimed that the Rwandan government intended to first trigger instability and then claim it had started without external involvement. "They would say it's an internal problem when it's Rwanda (who is) the problem," he said of the government led by his counterpart, President Paul Kagame. "We know that he has a plan to attack Burundi. Burundians will not accept to be killed as Congolese are being killed. Burundian people are fighters." Ndayishimiye also accused Rwanda of fomenting a failed coup in Burundi in 2015, but said he had no intention of going to war. "We don't have any plans to attack Rwanda," he said. "We want to resolve that problem by dialogue. "We are calling on our neighbours to respect the peace agreements we have made. There is no need for us to go to war. We want dialogue, but we will not sit idle if we are attacked. We don't have anything to ask (of) Rwanda, but they refuse because they have a bad plan — they wanted to do what they're doing in the DRC." Ndayishimiye has not provided any evidence for his claims. Rwanda has rejected Ndayishimiye's words as "surprising" and said there was no plan to spark conflict in Burundi. The government in Kigali has also denied links to rebel groups in Burundi and insists the two countries are cooperating to secure their border. A crisis deepens Meanwhile, Burundi is seeing its largest influx of refugees in decades as tens of thousands of people flee the fighting in the eastern area of DRC. According to the UN World Food Program (WFP), as Congolese government troops fight Rwanda-backed rebels who now hold two major cities, the number of registered refugees who need food assistance has doubled since January and now stands at 120,000. The decades-long conflict in eastern DRC escalated in January when the M23 rebel group seized the strategic city of Goma. The following month the group took the city of Bukavu, which lies less than 30 miles from the Burundi border. The presidents of DRC and Rwanda met last week in Qatar for their first direct talks since the cities were seized. M23 is one of about 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich region. The conflict has created one of the world's largest and longest-running humanitarian crises, displacing more than 7 million people displaced over the years. ADVERTISEMENT Many of those displaced to neighbouring countries including Burundi have escaped lethal violence only to face serious food insecurity. WFP warned yesterday that its funds for operations in Burundi are 'stretched to the limit' and likely will be exhausted in June. It said it might have to "suspend food assistance entirely' from July or earlier.
