Burundi: Election campaign for the triple ballot begins

Text by: Sébastien Duhamel

This Monday, April 27, begins in Burundi the electoral campaign for the triple ballot scheduled for May 20: elections of deputies and municipal councilors, but also that of the President of the Republic. A campaign that will end on May 17.

Publicity

For the presidential election, seven candidates will try to convince voters during these three weeks of campaign. Among them, there is first of all General Evariste Ndayishimié, who will wear the colors of the ruling party, the CNDD-FDD. He is the dolphin of Pierre Nkurunziza, the current head of state, who does not represent himself.

He will face in particular the one who is presented as the main opponent, Agathon Rwasa, leader of the new National Council for Freedom, the CNL, approved a little over a year ago. There will also be Domitien Ndayizeye, president of transition between 2003 and 2005, today at the head of the Kira Burundi coalition. Like three other contenders, his candidacy had first been rejected by the Electoral Commission (Céni), but he finally succeeded after appealing to the Constitutional Court.

An election with little stake for observers

Be that as it may, many observers believe that the ballot presents no stakes. "  It is accepted, including by the opposition, that the winner is already known and that he will be the candidate of the CNDD-FDD  ", explains Thierry Vircoulon, coordinator of the Observatory for Central and Southern Africa of the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI). “  The opposition that will compete in this election essentially plays a role of democratic stooges to the regime. And for her, the challenge is to grab a few places in Parliament, so as to still have an existence, more theoretical than real  . ”

In any case, each of the seven successful candidates and their team must speak each day between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. "  Any propaganda outside this period is prohibited,  " specifies a decree of the CENI which sets the framework for this campaign. While opponents rightly accuse the ruling party of campaigning for some time and the CENI to turn a blind eye.

A campaign under the surveillance of civil society

For their part, civil society actors are already mobilized. After the political crisis of 2015 and the failure of the dialogue launched under the aegis of the East African Community, six organizations have indeed set up a joint project to monitor human rights violations. In a press release, they invited the authorities to "  guarantee the security of the entire population during this electoral period, when opponents are regularly threatened  " as well as to "  scrupulously respect the electoral rights of candidates and voters  ".

#Burundi - Elections: Launch of the consortium of civil society organizations for monitoring human rights violations during the electoral period.https: //t.co/DualpjupdD pic.twitter.com/vA7ouNtdrh

A campaign that will also take place under the threat of the coronavirus. Fifteen cases have been officially reported and one death in the country. And if the Ministry of Health has made recommendations - points to wash your hands in particular -, no restrictions have been announced for the time being regarding meetings and public meetings.

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