Nkurunziza only candidate in Burundi presidential elections

Pierre Nkurunziza, President of Burundi, captured during the Opening Plenary of the World Economic Forum on Africa 2008 in Cape

wikimedia commons

By Judith Basutama

The campaign for Burundi's presidential poll due on 28 June started Saturday. President Pierre Nkurunziza is the only candidate after opposition leaders decided to boycott the polls. The electoral campaign will end on 25 June.

Nkurunziza kicked off his electoral campaign in his native province of Ngozi in the North of Burundi. Thousands of supporters from Bujumbura capital city and other provinces attended the rally.

Nkurunziza stressed that for the first time in 48 years of Burundi independence, democratically elected institutions have ended their term. To him, it is a mark that peace and security have been restored.

In Bujumbura, however, considered as the opposition stronghold, there is no visible sign of the electoral campaign. Residents preferred to stay indoors or in pubs to watch the world cup.

Nkurunziza is the only candidate for the presidential poll. Six opposition candidates pulled out of the vote in protest over rigging in the local elections held last month.

They are calling for new elections and the dismantling of the national independent electoral commission. Although opposition parties are forbidden from organising rallies, they have vowed to launch a campaign to boycott the vote.

A series of incidents marked the beginning of the electoral campaign. On Saturday, seven people were injured in grenades blasts in Bujumbura. Police spokesman Pierre Channel Ntarabaganyi called them election-related acts of sabotage.