Burundi: surprise announcement of the partial results of the presidential elections

Text by: RFI Follow

Sudden acceleration of the electoral calendar in Burundi. While the results were expected at the earliest this Friday, voters were surprised to hear this Thursday evening on the television news, Media Synergy, now supervised by the Ministry of Communication, announce the results a little more 12% of Burundian municipalities.

Publicity

The score attributed to the candidate of the ruling party, General Evariste Ndayishimiye , on these municipalities scattered throughout the country, is overwhelming: almost 80%, against less than 20% for his main opponent.

These results are still too partial at this stage to be truly significant, but they spilled the blood of the main Burundian opponent, and were felt as a real electroshock by his supporters .

"  I reject them, they are fanciful results, they do not stick to reality  ", thundered Agathon Rwasa, ensuring to have at his disposal "  proofs  " of what he claims. It is said, he said, part of the count of the 14,000 polling stations, that his party was able to collect Wednesday evening, just after the counting of votes. Then he claimed his victory for the three polls at stake two days ago, despite "  massive fraud  " orchestrated by their opponents in "  closed-door  " elections, according to his party.

Ballot stuffing, multiple votes, excessive use of proxies, arrests of more than 200 of its political assessors and activists among others: the CNL party denounces since Wednesday of "  very many irregularities  ".

Undaunted, neither the Independent National Electoral Commission, nor the Cndd-FDD, which holds the country with an iron fist, have deigned to react so far.

Agathon Rwasa ensures that he will seize "  when the time comes  " the bodies empowered to decide electoral disputes, even if he says he does not trust the Ceni and the current constitutional court.

Newsletter Receive all international news directly in your mailbox

Follow all international news by downloading the RFI application

• Burundi

On the same subject

Burundi: a day of triple voting where the shadow of Nkurunziza hung

Burundi elections: poll held in a tense climate