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Burundi to Press Ahead With Elections Despite Opposition Boycott
Highlights
Burundi\'s ambassador to the United Nations said Friday that elections will go ahead as planned next week, despite the opposition vowing to boycott the polls and the US withdrawing its assistance.
Burundi's ambassador to the United Nations said Friday that elections will go ahead as planned next week, despite the opposition vowing to boycott the polls and the US withdrawing its assistance.
Parliamentary elections are set to be held on Monday and a presidential vote on July 15, despite months of turmoil sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term in office.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday called for them to be delayed after the opposition said they would not take part in the polls, which come as Burundi faces its worst crisis since its civil war ended nine years ago.
Hours later Washington said it was suspending assistance for the elections, which it said would not be credible, blaming Nkurunziza for trying to stay in office and violating the terms of a 2006 peace treaty.
But Burundi's UN Ambassador Albert Shingiro told the 15-member Security Council the polls would go ahead as planned, adding: "The government simply cannot accept to tumble head-first into an institutional vacuum, into a chasm."
"Ninety-five percent of the population wants to move forward to the election and not remain hostage to this radical minority," he said, accusing the opposition of acting "like spoiled brats" who are never satisfied.
The central African country was plunged into turmoil in late April when Nkurunziza launched his drive for a third consecutive five-year term, triggering widespread protests and a failed coup.
Opponents say his bid for another term is unconstitutional and violates a peace accord that ended 13 years of civil war in 2006.
"All the opposition have unanimously decided to boycott the elections," said Charles Nditije, a key opposition leader, after a letter signed by all the country's opposition groups was handed to the election commission.
Civil society groups backed the move in a joint statement calling on voters to skip the "sham elections" and urging the international community "not to recognise the validity" of the polls.
"Thousands of Burundians have fled the country, a thousand peaceful demonstrators were arrested, tortured, and are currently languishing in jail," the statement said.
Credible polls 'Impossible'
International mediators have suggested holding all the elections on July 31 to allow more time to resolve the crisis.
On Friday Ban said Burundi should delay the vote to create "a conducive environment for inclusive, peaceful and transparent elections".
Former colonial power Belgium has it would not recognise the results of the elections, saying it was "impossible" that polls could be held in an "acceptable manner".
Many fear a repeat of the 1993-2006 civil war which split the country along ethnic lines, pitting the majority Hutus against the minority Tutsis.
Around 70 people have been killed in weeks of demonstrations that have been brutally suppressed, triggering an exodus of over 120,000 people into neighbouring countries.
Criticising the timetable for the polls set by the electoral commission, the opposition said it would not take part until conditions for "peaceful, transparent and inclusive" polls were met.
The ruling CNDD-FDD's youth wing, the fearsome Imbonerakure whose name means "The Watchmen" or, literally, "Those Who See Far", has been accused by the UN of waging a campaign of intimidation and violence.
Several top officials including the deputy vice-president as well as members of the election commission and constitutional court have fled the poverty-stricken, landlocked country.
In a letter addressed to Nkurunziza, second vice president Gervais Rufyikiri on Thursday urged the president to "put the interests of the Burundian people before your personal interests".
"Withdraw your presidential bid, because it violates the constitution," he wrote after fleeing the country.
The opposition said its conditions for fair elections included the "disarmament of the Imbonerakure militia, the security of the electoral process and political leaders and society," as well as "the reopening of the independent media" and "return of refugees."
Several journalists covering Burundi's crisis have said they have received death threats from members of the police and other branches of the security forces.
On Thursday, some 200 students sought refuge from the police at the US embassy.
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