Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza (pictured with first lady Denise Bucumi) was nominated by his nation's ruling party on Saturday for a third term in office, despite the nation's law that limits a president's tenure to two terms. Photo: UPI/Mike Theiler |
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BUJUMBURA, Burundi, April 26 (UPI) -- At least two people have been killed in Central Africa one day after Burundi's president became primed for a third term in office -- a proposition banned by national law.
Burundi's ruling party, the National Council for the Defense of Democracy–Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD), on Saturday nominated President Pierre Nkurunziza, who has headed the government since he was first elected in 2005. Burundi's constitution, however, limits presidents to only two five-year terms -- which, opponents say, means Nkurunziza is out of time.
But the president's supporters say he still has one term of eligibility left because his ascension to the presidency ten years ago resulted from a vote of parliament -- not the nation's voters. In 2010, he won re-election with 91 percent of Burundi's vote as the lone candidate on the ballot.
Opponents to another term took to the streets in the capital of Bujumbura after the party's nomination of Nkurunziza for another run -- defying an official order not to demonstrate.
At least two people have been killed and several injured in violent clashes with police, who responded with tear gas, a water cannon and live ammunition to block access to the center of the city. Many protesters were also detained by police.
At his nomination Saturday, Nkurunziza urged peace and threatened to quell any uprising against what he called "the ruling party elected by the people."
Opponents say the president's third run violates a peace deal reached in 2005 that ended the nation's bloody civil war, which endured from 1993 to 2005 and killed 300,000 people. Critics are concerned that another term for Nkurunziza could push the country back into civil chaos.
A major reason critics are worried is because some believe that if Nkurunziza runs again, he will almost assuredly win -- as the CNDD-FDD party wields substantial power in Burundi. He ran unopposed in 2010 after five candidates abruptly dropped out of the race only a month before the vote, claiming the government intended to rig Nkurunziza's victory.
Critics of the 2010 race also say Nkurunziza endured as the only candidate on the ballot through a campaign of fraud and intimidation.
The U.S. Department of State on Saturday heavily criticized the party's intention to have Nkurunziza run again, saying it violates Burundi's process of democracy.
"The United States deeply regrets the decision by Burundi's ruling party, the National Council for the Defense of Democracy–Forces for the Defense of Democracy, to disregard the term-limit provisions of the Arusha Agreement by naming President Pierre Nkurunziza as its candidate for a third presidential term," department spokesperson Marie Harf said. "With this decision, Burundi is losing an historic opportunity to strengthen its democracy by establishing a tradition of peaceful democratic transition."
About 12,000 Burundi nationals have fled to neighboring nations in Central Africa to escape violence ahead of the June election.
"We regret this significant missed opportunity, but the hard work of building democratic practices and institutions must continue," Harf said. "We renew our calls on all candidates, their supporters, and Burundian citizens to reject all forms of violence, and on the national police, the Burundian military, and all security force personnel to provide security in an impartial manner throughout the electoral processes.
"Violence has no place in democratic elections, and perpetrators of such violence will not be welcome to travel to the United States."
