Al Jazeera News :
Polling stations in Burundi’s controversial parliamentary and local elections have officially opened, with the climate tense after two months of protests sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term.
The polls opened at 6am local time (04:00 GMT) on Monday.
Some 3.8 million Burundians are eligible to vote in the polls, which the opposition and civil society groups are boycotting, claiming they will not be free and fair. Burundian authorities have refused to delay the elections despite calls from the international community.
Al Jazeera’s Haru Mutasa, reporting from a polling station in the capital Bujumbura, said the atmosphere was filled with fear and tension on Monday morning, with many fearing a continuation of the violence that has marred the lead-up to the elections.
She said there were delays reported at several polling stations across the country, following violence.
“There aren’t many people here, I would say around 50. Several polling stations were attacked and there was gunfire overnight,” she said.
“Polls will open late in many places because some people have thrown grenades and police are sorting things out.
“When asked, people say all they want is politics out of the way and out of their lives, they fear there could be potential for a lot of violence after the elections. Many people are crossing the border out of the country as we speak.”
The African Union (AU) will not observe the elections, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the chairperson of the commission of the AU, has said. Burundi opposition parties to boycott polls
Police in Burundi said that several polling centres were attacked overnight, with no damage caused to electoral materials. In a communique released on Sunday, Dlamini-Zuma said the “AU reiterates the imperative need for dialogue and consensus for a lasting solution to the crisis in Burundi”.
“[The AU] will not observe the elections scheduled for 29 June 2015,” Dlamini-Zuma said.
Echoing the AU’s remarks, the UN said on Sunday that Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon was concerned about “the Government of Burundi’s insistence on going ahead with elections on 29 June despite the prevailing political and security environment”.
Mutasa said some supporters of President Nkurunziza are wondering why Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir was seemingly protected in South Africa at the AU summit in Johannesburg just over a week back, while their president seems to have been abandoned by the AU.
Burundi has been in turmoil since April, when Nkurunziza said he would seek a third term, triggering weeks of protests, and an abortive military coup last month.
Nkurunziza’s opponents say his decision to stand again violates the constitution as well as a peace deal that ended a civil war in 2005.
Polling stations in Burundi’s controversial parliamentary and local elections have officially opened, with the climate tense after two months of protests sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term.
The polls opened at 6am local time (04:00 GMT) on Monday.
Some 3.8 million Burundians are eligible to vote in the polls, which the opposition and civil society groups are boycotting, claiming they will not be free and fair. Burundian authorities have refused to delay the elections despite calls from the international community.
Al Jazeera’s Haru Mutasa, reporting from a polling station in the capital Bujumbura, said the atmosphere was filled with fear and tension on Monday morning, with many fearing a continuation of the violence that has marred the lead-up to the elections.
She said there were delays reported at several polling stations across the country, following violence.
“There aren’t many people here, I would say around 50. Several polling stations were attacked and there was gunfire overnight,” she said.
“Polls will open late in many places because some people have thrown grenades and police are sorting things out.
“When asked, people say all they want is politics out of the way and out of their lives, they fear there could be potential for a lot of violence after the elections. Many people are crossing the border out of the country as we speak.”
The African Union (AU) will not observe the elections, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the chairperson of the commission of the AU, has said. Burundi opposition parties to boycott polls
Police in Burundi said that several polling centres were attacked overnight, with no damage caused to electoral materials. In a communique released on Sunday, Dlamini-Zuma said the “AU reiterates the imperative need for dialogue and consensus for a lasting solution to the crisis in Burundi”.
“[The AU] will not observe the elections scheduled for 29 June 2015,” Dlamini-Zuma said.
Echoing the AU’s remarks, the UN said on Sunday that Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon was concerned about “the Government of Burundi’s insistence on going ahead with elections on 29 June despite the prevailing political and security environment”.
Mutasa said some supporters of President Nkurunziza are wondering why Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir was seemingly protected in South Africa at the AU summit in Johannesburg just over a week back, while their president seems to have been abandoned by the AU.
Burundi has been in turmoil since April, when Nkurunziza said he would seek a third term, triggering weeks of protests, and an abortive military coup last month.
Nkurunziza’s opponents say his decision to stand again violates the constitution as well as a peace deal that ended a civil war in 2005.
