U.S. calls Burundi election ‘deeply flawed’

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry yesterday called Burundi’s election “deeply flawed” and urged President Pierre Nkurunziza to hold a “meaningful, serious” dialogue with the central African country’s opposition, the State Department said in a statement.

Nkurunziza won a third term in office on Friday after the opposition boycotted the vote, accusing him of violating the constitution by running for re-election.

Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term plunged Burundi into its biggest crisis since an ethnically charged civil war ended in 2005.