Nairobi - Burundi's political parties
started campaigning for next month's presidential elections on
Monday despite opposition accusations of intimidation and the
ongoing global coronavirus crisis.
With only one death and 15 Covid-19 cases found in minimal
testing, authorities are pressing on with the May 20 vote for a
successor to President Pierre Nkurunziza, an ex-rebel leader in
power since the end of a civil war in 2005 that killed 300,000
people.
Nkurunziza ran for a third term in 2015 in a move the
opposition said violated the terms of the peace deal. The move
triggered violent protests and a failed coup in the East African
nation of just over 11 million people.
Since then, nearly half a million people have fled, the
economy has nosedived and low-level political violence has
simmered.
Nkurunziza's ruling CNDD-FDD party is fielding Evariste
Ndayishimiye, a retired army general who heads the department of
military affairs in the president's office.
His foremost opponent is opposition party CNL's candidate
Agathon Rwasa, a deputy chairman of the National Assembly and
another former rebel leader.
Unlike most other nations, Burundi has not put restrictions
on gatherings or internal travel due to the coronavirus crisis,
so campaigning should be relatively unimpeded.
Rights groups and opposition parties say CNDD-FDD's youth
wing members, known as "Imbonerakure" - or "those who see far"
in the local Kirundi language - have attacked foes, while the
government has threatened and arbitrarily arrested journalists
and activists.
"UNPSEAKABLE ACTS"
A United Nations report last year accused security forces
and the ruling party of gang rapes, torture and killings.
CNL has also accused the police, intelligence services and
officials of carrying out killings and enforced disappearances
of its members.
"Some of the perpetrators of the unspeakable acts are
officials of the ruling party and its allies, public officials
who are members of the ruling party, youth members of the party
in power and workers of the Intelligence Service or the police,"
Therence Nahimana, CNL's spokesman, told reporters last week.
Nahimana said more than 200 CNL members had been detained
and party members' property, crops, houses and other assets
destroyed.
Burundi government spokesman Prosper Ntahorwamiye told
Reuters in a WhatsApp message he had no comment. The government
has previously denied accusations of rights violations.
Between January and March, Ligue Iteka, an exiled Burundian
rights group, documented 67 killings, including 14 extrajudicial
executions, and six disappearances.
"These elections will be accompanied by more abuses, as
Burundian officials and members of the Imbonerakure are using
violence with near-total impunity to allow the ruling party to
entrench its hold on power," said Lewis Mudge, Central Africa
director at Human Rights Watch.
Five other candidates are vying for the presidency,
including the first vice president Gaston Sindimwo and former
president Domicien Ndayizeye. Parliamentary and municipal
elections will be held at the same time.
Rights groups around the world are concerned that repressive
governments may exploit the coronavirus crisis to crack down on
opponents and consolidate their power.
Elsewhere in Africa, Tanzania, Ivory Coast and Guinea are
also all due to hold elections this year.