Nkurunziza to win as rivals boycott
2010-06-24 21:34
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Bujumbura - Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza is assured of re-election on Monday as his rivals are refusing take part in the vote, a boycott that underscores political tensions in the country despite the return of peace.
Six candidates are abstaining from the June 28 vote - the second such contest since more than a decade of civil war that killed 300 000 people - after opposition parties complained of fraud in May's district polls won by Nkurunziza's CNDD-FDD.
The election body has rejected calls for a re-run of those polls, as well as a delay of the presidential vote in the coffee-producing nation of 8 million.
"The opposition has decided not to take part. That is their decision. Nkurunziza will be elected," said Thierry Vircoulon, head of the International Crisis Group's Central Africa project.
Nkurunziza's party won 64% of the vote in the district polls, which EU observers said met international standards despite opposition complaints.
Stability
The series of polls, which are also meant to include parliamentary elections in July, are the biggest measure of stability since 2005, when former rebel leader Nkurunziza was elected president after a long UN-backed peace process.
The turn-out, rather than the result, is likely to be a gauge of Nkurunziza's rule.
"We can have an election with one candidate and this used to happen in most African countries," said political analyst Julien Nimubona. "But the big problem here is the credibility for such an election with one party, with one political programme and with one candidate."
"What will be interesting is to know if Nkurunziza is really a credible candidate, a champion. He will be a champion in his party if he is massively elected," Nimubona added.
Security
A series of grenade attacks have killed several people and wounded dozens, leaving the authorities and the opposition to trade accusations over who is responsible.
The main Tutsi-dominated UPRONA party wants the vote postponed until conditions improve.
"Security is worsening day after day due to hand grenade blasts. Tension between political parties is so high because there is no dialogue," said UPRONA spokesperson Anicet Niyongabo.
But the CNDD-FDD has accused the opposition of seeking to foment instability by delaying the poll and the election body said voting would take place as expected on Monday.
Burundi has enjoyed relative peace since the last Hutu guerrilla group, the Forces for National Liberation (FNL), agreed last year to lay down weapons and join the government.
But the grenade attacks are deepening fears of violence. ICG has accused the government of intimidating opponents and warned that some of its rivals, especially the FNL and the main Hutu opposition party (FRODEBU), were mobilising youth.
Even if the presidential vote passed peacefully, ICG's Vircoulon said there are concerns over the opposition's plans to also boycott the parliamentary elections on July 28.
"There is a risk that the political system is not going to work, and we can't afford to have a one-party system. This is not possible in Burundi," he added.
