Presidential elections in Burundi began Tuesday morning with low voter turnout in opposition areas amid a widespread understanding that the results will be in favor of incumbent Pierre Nkurunziza.
Presidential elections in Burundi began Tuesday morning with low voter turnout in opposition areas amid a widespread understanding that the results will be in favor of incumbent Pierre Nkurunziza.
"These elections prove that democracy is improving in Burundi," the Associated Press quoted Mr. Nkurunziza as saying after he cast his ballot. Mr. Nkurunziza is running for a third term that many within and outside the country are calling illegal due to presidential term limits.
Opposition parties largely boycotted the election, which is taking place after a night of gunfire rocked Bujumbura, the nation’s capital. Most election-monitoring organizations didn’t even bother to attend.
Burundi has been dogged by political unrest since Nkurunziza’s April announcement that he would seek reelection, stewing fears of larger upheaval. The UN says over 170,000 people have fled to neighboring countries ahead of the vote in fear of violence, with which Burundi is sadly familiar, having hosted four coups and a deadly civil war since its independence from Belgium in 1961.
The US State Department issued a statement saying that the vote will lack credibility, and threatened to impose visa restrictions on those promoting instability in the country.