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Violence And Confusion Disrupt Burundi’s Parliamentary Elections

Three polling stations in the capital were attacked the night before the elections. The government has withheld comments on the perpetrators of the attacks and the number of casualties.

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Gunfire and grenade explosions have rocked Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi, every evening for nearly one week leading to the Parliamentary elections held today.

Early reports claim that only small crowds of people went to the polling stations, despite there being about 3.8 million voters nationwide.

The Deputy Police Chief, Godefroid Bizimanam, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that "armed groups tried to attack polling centers... they were shooting and threw grenades."

President Pierre Nkurunziza's administration decided to press forward and allow individuals to vote in Parliamentary elections, despite the backlash from members of the international community who, in condemnation, pushed for the elections to be delayed.

Three polling stations in the capital were attacked the night before the elections. The government has withheld comments on the perpetrators of the attacks and the number of casualties.

The Deputy Spokesman for the police, Pierre Nkurikiye, said, "I cannot disclose anything right now. We are busy ensuring security for the elections."

Burundi is also under pressure from citizens from across the country fleeing from fear of politically or ethnically inspired violence. It is reported that 66,000 Burundians qualify as refugees, and more than 127,000 people have fled the country to Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

On Monday many polling centers throughout Burundi were relocated at the last possible second causing confusion which impacted the number of people who casted their vote.

In April, when Nkurunziza announced his third term, those in opposition parties protested claiming his campaign would violate the Constitution. However, the Court eventually sided with President Nkurunziza’s bid, arguing that in his first-term he was appointed by Parliament. It will also be recalled that the original presiding Judge fled Burundi when he refused to cave into pressure to give President Nkurunziza a positive verdict.

Last week all of Nkurunziza's major contesting Parties announced they would boycott the election. Moreover, their names never made it to the ballot. Just four of the eleven parties were listed on the ballot.

Due to systemic irregularities during today’s Parliamentary elections, early reports and observers are claiming the elections are not credible. Jeffery Smith, the Africa policy officer at the Robert Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, said that "what has been playing out in Burundi, including today's fraud election, is clearly the result of a failure of leadership and a lack of fortitude displayed by the African Union. Instead of taking a serious stand against Nkurunziza's illegal bid to stand for a third term, AU leaders, including the current chairman Robert Mugabe, made light of the situation and openly joked about it during the recently concluded AU Summit.”

Jeffery Smith’s comments comes days after the African Union’s statement that "noting that the necessary conditions are not met for the organization of free, fair and transparent and credible elections...the AU commission will not observe the local and parliamentary elections.”

Burundi’s presidential elections will be held on July 15, which will be President Nkurunziza’s attempt at a third term in office.

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Corruption