Elections in Burundi 2020

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2020 elections in Burundi took place on May 20, 2020. In addition to the President of Burundi , the members of the National Assembly and the local councils were elected. A possible second round of the presidential election was scheduled for June 19, but was canceled because the government candidate, Évariste Ndayishimiye , was elected in the first round. The last elections took place in 2015. The Commission électorale nationale indépendante (CENI) was responsible for the elections . They took place during the COVID-19 pandemic .

Done in the run-up to the elections

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which is also rampant in Burundi, an election campaign took place in public. Thousands of people met at times; no contact had been blocked. On May 13, the four representatives of the World Health Organization were expelled from the country; they had repeatedly criticized the lack of protection against infection.

Early May 2020 were 64 opposition activists, including Cathy Kezimana, candidate of the Congrès national pour la liberté for the National Assembly, was arrested. They were charged with violent clashes with supporters of the ruling party Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie - Forces de défence de la démocratie (CNDD-FDD). Several people died in clashes. The United Nations and the African Union called for violence to be renounced prior to the election.

International election observers were only admitted after a 14-day quarantine, so there were hardly any election observers.

Course of the elections

According to numerous sources, there were forgeries and intimidation. For example, fake ballot papers are said to have been put in ballot boxes and voters were pressured to vote for Ndayashimiye. CNL election observers had been expelled from polling stations or even arrested; the CNL spoke of more than 200 arrested.

The President of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry into Burundi, Doudou Diène , described the elections as not free and unreliable. From the morning of election day, social networks and messenger services were interrupted.

Presidential election

Electoral procedure and initial situation

If no candidate achieves an absolute majority in the first ballot , there is a runoff election of the two candidates with the most votes in the first ballot.

Pierre Nkurunziza (2014)

In the 2015 election, Pierre Nkurunziza (CNDD-FDD) , who has been in office since 2005, was re-elected in the first ballot with around 69% of the vote. Several opposition candidates had boycotted the election because the constitution did not provide for a third term, but Nkurunziza's first election in 2005 was considered an indirect election by parliamentarians. Around 1200 people were killed in connection with the 2015 election, and hundreds of thousands of Burundians fled to neighboring countries.

In 2018, 71% of the electorate voted for a constitutional amendment according to which a president can serve for seven years and can be re-elected at most once. Contrary to what was initially assumed, Nkurunziza declared in the same year that she did not want to compete again. For this he received a high severance payment and the title “Eternal Supreme Leader”. In his place, the CNDD-FDD nominated the party's general secretary, Évariste Ndayishimiye , in January 2020 , who, as a general, is responsible for persecuting oppositionists and was considered an ally of Nkurunziza. As early as 2019, the leadership of the opposition alliance, the Conseil national pour le respect de l'accord d'Arusha pour la paix et la réconciliation au Burundi et la restauration de l'état de droit (CNARED), who lived in exile in Belgium , announced that it would join the Wanting to participate in the election.

Candidates

In addition to Évariste Ndayishimiye, the following candidates applied:

Two candidates were not allowed to run, including Anicet Niyonkuru of the Conseil des patriotes (CDP), a member of CNARED.

  • Évariste Ndayishimiye (2020)

  • Agathon Rwasa (2020)

  • Dimitien Ndayizeye (2004)

  • Gaston Sindimwo (2015)

Result

On May 25, the electoral commission announced the preliminary results. Accordingly, Ndayishimiye received 68.72% of the vote, Rwasa had a share of 24.19%. Ndayishimiye was thus elected in the first ballot. 87.7% of the registered voters took part in the vote, according to the election commission. The Catholic Church complained about massive election fraud, while the CNDD-FDD organized a three-day thanksgiving celebration because “God spared us from the corona pandemic” and “allowed peaceful elections”. On June 4th, the Burundian Constitutional Court announced the final election results. Accordingly, Ndayishimiye received 68.70% of the vote, Rwasa 24.18%. received 1.68%, while the remaining candidates received less than 1% of the vote. A total of 4,313,704 valid votes were counted; 87.7% of registered voters took part in the vote.

Election to the National Assembly

Electoral procedure and initial situation

100 members of the Assemblée nationale are elected according to proportional representation in 18 multi-member constituencies that correspond to the provinces. A nationwide two percent threshold applies . The distribution of seats is determined using the d'Hondt method . In addition, enough MPs are appointed that the Hutu to Tutsi ratio is 3: 2 and that at least 30% women are represented. According to the constitution, three seats go to representatives of the Twa . You do not belong to any of the factions.

In 2015 the CNDD-FDD received 86 seats, the Tutsi- dominated Indépendants de l'espoir (also: Abigenga Mizero Y'Abarundi) 30, the Union pour le progrès national (UPRONA) 2; the Twa received 3 seats, a total of 121 seats.

In addition to numerous parties, many independents stood for election.

Result

CENI announced the results on June 4th. According to this, the Assemblée nationale will consist of 120 members in the future. 86 seats again went to the CNDD-FDD, 32 to the CNL, 2 to the UPRONA and 3 to representatives of the Twa. The only constituency in which the CNL won more seats than the CNDD-FDD was the former capital Bujumbura . The CNDD-FDD received 68.01% of the vote nationwide, the CNL 22.42% and the UPRONA 2.43%. Of the parties that did not win a mandate, Sahwanya Frodebu received the most votes with 0.70%.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ James Tasamba: Burundi's main opposition leader announces election bid. aa.com.tr of November 18, 2020 (English), accessed on May 13, 2020
  2. ^ Agence France-Presse : Little hope ahead of polls as Burundi economy hit by virus. ewn.co.za on May 15, 2020, accessed on May 15, 2020
  3. ↑ a b nob / uh: Burundi throws WHO experts out of the country during the corona pandemic. dw.com on May 14, 2020, accessed on May 15, 2020
  4. ↑ epd : Burundi: Oppositionists in custody. sueddeutsche.de on May 7, 2020, accessed on May 14, 2020
  5. ↑ Eloge Willy Kaneza: Burundi-Elections: qui est Cathy Kezimana, cette opposante burundaise emprisonnée. sosmediasburundi.org of May 6, 2020 (French), accessed on May 14, 2020
  6. ↑ epd : Burundi: UN and African Union concerned about violence before elections. evangelisch.de of May 18, 2020, accessed on May 18, 2020
  7. ↑ Reuters : Burundi: police detain more than 200 opposition election observers. reuters.com from May 22, 2020 (English), accessed on May 24, 2020
  8. ^ Massive election fraud in Burundi. dw.com on May 20, 2020, accessed on May 21, 2020
  9. ↑ Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban / Agencies: Burundi awaits poll results as opposition alleges fraud. africanews.com, May 21, 2020, accessed May 21, 2020
  10. ↑ Burundi: Pierre Nkurunziza wins third term in disputed election. theguardian.com of July 24, 2015 (English), accessed May 13, 2020
  11. ↑ Chrispin Mwakideu: Is president Pierre Nkurunziza ready to relinquish power? dw.com of January 27, 2020 (English), accessed on May 14, 2020
  12. ↑ a b Simone Schlindwein: Hardliner follows hardliner. taz.de from January 28, 2020, accessed on May 13, 2020
  13. ↑ Frederic Nkundikije: Burundi's exiled main opposition alliance plans to participate in 2020 vote. voanews.com dated December 16, 2019, accessed May 13, 2020
  14. ↑ Antéditeste Niragira: Présidentielle au Burundi, deux candidats indépendants en lice. dw.com from April 20, 2020 (French), accessed on May 14, 2020
  15. ↑ Burundi election commission says Ndayishimiye new president. aljazeera.com of May 25, 2020 (English), accessed on May 25, 2020
  16. ↑ Peaceful polls despite virus: Burundi ruling party 'thanks God'. africanews.com, May 30, 2020, accessed May 30, 2020
  17. ↑ ARRET RCCB 387 DU 4 JUIN 2020 LES RESULTATS DEFINITIFS DE L'ELECTION PRESIDENTIELLE. ceniburundi.bi (French), accessed June 11, 2020
  18. ↑ Composition of the Assemblée nationale before the elections assemblee.bi (French), accessed on May 14, 2020
  19. ↑ ARRET RCCB 388 DU 04 JUIN 2020, LES RESULTATS DEFINITIFS DE L'ELECTION DES DEPUTES. ceniburundi.bi (French), accessed June 11, 2020