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Burundi’s President Nkurunziza declared winner of election

Burundi’s incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza (2nd R) lines up prior to casting his ballot at a polling station in his native village of Buye in Ngozi Province, July 21, 2015. (AFP photo)

Official election results in Burundi show that incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza has won a third consecutive term in office.

According to the official results announced on Friday, Nkurunziza bagged 69.41% of the votes from the July 21 presidential election.

According to Electoral Commission President Pierre-Claver Ndayicariye in an earlier announcement, approximately 74 percent of Burundi’s 3.8 million registered voters cast their ballots in the election.

Nkurunziza secured the first-round victory from among the eight candidates listed on the ballot paper for the presidential poll.

This photo taken on July 21, 2015 shows a full ballot box in Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura. (AFP photo)

 

The opposition had denounced Nkurunziza’s candidacy, claiming it was unconstitutional. The bid for office provoked months of protests and an attempted coup in the country.

Amnesty International said on Thursday that Burundian government forces “used excessive and disproportionate force, including lethal force, against protesters, at times shooting unarmed protesters running away from them.”

Amnesty added that the Burundian security forces classified all anti-government protesters as rebellious and attempting to overthrow the incumbent government.

This photo, taken on July 21, 2015, shows members of the Independent National Electoral Commission counting votes at a polling station in Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura. (AFP photo)

 

The Burundian government, meanwhile, has dismissed criticism by the United States, the European Union (EU) and Belgium – of which Burundi was a former colony – regarding the presidential vote’s credibility.

Meanwhile, many government critics have fled the country for neighboring states over fears of mounting violence and instability in Burundi.

At least 100 people have died in the violence since late April, when Nkurunziza announced his bid for a term presidential term.

Burundi is a small nation in Africa’s Great Lakes region. It emerged from a brutal 12-year civil war in 2005.


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