Attackers burn election material in Burundi
Attackers in Burundi have set fire to a building that stored election material following weeks of violence over President Pierre Nkurunziza’s controversial bid to run for a third term in office.
Burundi’s national electoral commission officials said on Saturday that the attack took place in the northeastern district of Ntega, which is located some 200 kilometers from the capital, Bujumbura.
Meanwhile, local governor Reverien Nzigamasabo has also confirmed that a group of young people set ballot boxes on fire in the troubled region.
“A group of unidentified young people took advantage of the police who were sleeping on duty and torched a building housing election material,” media outlets quoted Nzigamasabo as saying.
“Part of the ballot boxes and voting booths were burned, but people were able to save the rest,” he said.
Parliamentary and local elections are planned for Monday, ahead of a presidential vote on July 15 in the central African country.
On Friday, Burundi’s ambassador to the United Nations (UN) said that the country’s upcoming polls will go ahead as scheduled, rejecting further delays in the election calendar.
Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting, Albert Shingiro said that a vast majority of Burundians want to take part in the votes and not remain hostage to what he called a “radical minority” seeking postponements to the key polls.
Burundi plunged into political turmoil in late April, when President Nkurunziza announced a decision to run for a third consecutive five-year term.
Opposition parties have branded the bid as unconstitutional and in violation of a 2006 peace deal that ended 13 years of civil war.
The chaotic situation was exacerbated in the country after Major General Godefroid Niyombare, a former intelligence chief, launched a failed coup attempt in May.
Rights groups say at least 77 people have been killed, 500 wounded and more than 1,000 jailed since late April. Over 100,000 people have also fled the violence to neighboring countries.
JR/HJL/HMV
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