TheCable

Burundi presidential election commenced on Tuesday amid widespread tension.

Polls opened after a night of gunfire and explosions that claimed two lives in Bujumbura, capital of the country.

President Pierre Nkurunziza’s third term bid has sparked crisis in the country, with opposition parties staging series of protest.

About 3.8 million Burundians are eligible to vote in the poll, which has three minor opposition leaders running for the presidency.

Nkurunziza’s four main rivals, including Agathon Rwasa, are boycotting the poll, but the electoral commission has kept their names on the ballot paper.

The African Union (AU) has not sent observers – the first time it has taken such a stance against a member state.

Those who boycotted the election have described Nkurunziza’s candidacy as a violation of the peace deal that ended a dozen years of civil war and ethnic massacres in 2006.

The nation’s constitutional court has ruled in the president’s favour, however, maintaining he is eligible for a third term because he was chosen by legislators – and not popularly elected – for his first term.

“Despite a facade of pluralism, this is an election with only one candidate, where Burundians already know the outcome,” said Thierry Vircoulon, from the international crisis group, a think-tank that has warned the situation has all the ingredients to kick-start a renewed civil war.

The government accuses the opposition of provoking violent protests.

Chief communications adviser Willy Nyamitwe said: “People do it to intimidate voters. They don’t want the voters to go to the polls.”

The international community has threatened not to accept the outcome of the election after failing in its bid to prevent it from holding.