Burundi voted but with the opposition
Elections for a new Parliament in Burundi were going on on Thursday, but were stopped from effectively running with a low risk of being upset after the main protest. Poor, landlock country in East Africa has seen decades of caste violence, civil war and totalitarian rule. A former rebel group, The National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD -FDD) has dominated Burundian politics since 2005 of President Evariste Ndayishimiye. It is accused of reducing its main rival, National Freedom Council (CNL), who came second in the final election in 2020 and claimed that it was cheated. In 2023, the Interior Ministry suspended CNL on “irregularities”, the way it held its meetings. Then last year, CNL dropped its leader, former militia commander Agathan Rawasa, while he was abroad – a step he said that he was orchestrated by the government. The government then effectively passed the new rules, in which Rwasa and their allies were stopped from joining other parties or standing as independent. A Burundian analyst, who had requested oblivion for fear of vengeance, said that the ruling party was not taking any chance as the elections were being held amidst “very deep socio-economic crisis”. The analyst stated that Burundi said that all kinds of deficiency, galloping of more than 40 percent inflation gallop and growing popular dissatisfaction, ”.
Very difficult for us:
President Nadishimi took over after the death of his predecessor, Pierre Nakrunziza, who had separated the country with his cruel and chaotic rule since 2005. While Ndayishimiye was seen as a relatively low rulingist, Burundi’s right to record is poor, journalists, activists and opposition figures are all facing serious repression. One of the candidates for Thursday’s election, Patrick Nekuruniza – has no connection with the previous President – the head of Burundi for all coalitions, AFP reported that the campaign was “very difficult for us”.He said that his members suffered a “threat, harassment and sometimes attack” from a government-based youth league, known as Emblecaror. Last month, a group of media officials accused Embonaccur’s detention and torture, while he tried to work at Burundi University in the capital Bujumbura. Encurunija said that the lack of fuel has made the country a large extent for almost three years.The analyst said, “In the absence of CNL of Agathan RWASA, CNDD-FDD is sure to win,” the analyst said. Most other candidates are “token candidates, just to show that democracy is still happening in Burundi,” he said. Burundi experienced the decades of ethnic violence and civil war by 2005. Under a peace agreement signed in 2000, seats in Parliament have been divided between two ethnic groups, Hutu and Tutsi by 60–40. Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world, which is $ 2.15 per day below the poverty line of about two-thirds of the World Bank.
