BUJUMBURA, (Reuters) – A policeman and an opposition official died in violence at the start of Burundi’s presidential election yesterday, held amid protests over President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to run for a third term and an opposition boycott.
Blasts and gunfire echoed around Bujumbura early on Tuesday in Burundi’s worst crisis since a civil war ended in 2005. Calm returned to the capital during the day but dozens have been killed in weeks of demonstrations, a failed coup and clashes between rebel soldiers and the army.
Voters queued outside polling stations in some rural areas and districts of Bujumbura that are strongholds of Nkurunziza supporters. In other areas there were only trickles of voters.
Opponents accuse Nkurunziza of violating the constitution by seeking another five years in office. Nkurunziza, almost sure to win given the opposition boycott, cites a court ruling saying he can run again.
Western donors and African states, worried about tensions in a region with a history of ethnic conflict, urged Burundi to postpone the poll. The United States and Europe have halted some aid to Burundi, one of the world’s poorest nations.
Presidential adviser Willy Nyamitwe said one policeman and a civilian had been killed in overnight violence. “People do it to intimidate voters. They don’t want the voters to go to the polls,” he told Reuters.
Residents in the capital’s Nyakabiga district identified a body found there as an official in the opposition MSD party and accused the government of killing him. A police source confirmed the victim was part of the opposition.
A crowd blocked a thoroughfare with rocks and women chanted “We need justice and truth” near the body, before the Red Cross took it.
