Nairobi - Burundi's ruling party
candidate, retired general Evariste Ndayishimiye, has won the
presidential election with 69% of votes cast, the electoral
commission said on Monday, after accusations of rigging by the
leading opposition challenger.
The commission said opposition candidate Agathon Rwasa
received 24% of votes. There was a turnout of 88%.
Commission chairman Pierre Claver Kazihise said the turnout
was "massive" and the election was peaceful.
The May 20 vote to replace President Pierre Nkurunziza,
however, was preceded by political violence including the
arrest, torture and murder of opposition activists, according to
a local rights group.
There was also controversy over holding the election during
the coronavirus crisis.
Hundreds of Burundians were killed and hundreds of thousands
fled into exile after unrest surrounding the last election in
2015, when the opposition accused Nkurunziza of violating a
peace deal by standing for a third term.
Rwasa has previously said he will take his complaints to the
constitutional court, though it is packed with the president's
allies.
Neither Rwasa nor Ndayishimiye were immediately available
for comment. Their parties were also not available.
Five other candidates also stood in the polls, in which 5.11
million registered voters were eligible to participate.
Burundians queue to cast their votes in the presidential election, in Giheta, Gitega province. Picture: Berthier Mugiraneza/AP
Economic growth is at a standstill and political violence is
common. Between January and March, Ligue Iteka, an exiled
Burundian rights group, documented 67 killings, including 14
extrajudicial executions, and six disappearances.
There was no comment from the government, which has
previously denied accusations of rights violations.