Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza arrives by bicycle to cast his ballot at a polling centre in his indigenous village of Buye in Ngozi province, northern Burundi.

AFP/Bujumbura


Burundians voted yesterday amid gunfire and grenade blasts, with President Pierre Nkurunziza widely expected to win a third term despite international condemnation and thousands of people fleeing feared violence.
The US said the government’s dismissal of calls to delay the poll “risks its legitimacy” and risked “unravelling the fragile progress” made by the peace deal that ended more than a dozen years of civil war and ethnic massacres in 2006.
At least two people - a policeman and a civilian - were killed in a string of explosions and gunfire overnight. Blasts and shootings were also heard as polls opened shortly after dawn in the capital Bujumbura, the epicentre of three months of anti-government protests.
Willy Nyamitwe, Nkurunziza’s chief communications advisor, condemned the attacks as “terrorist acts” aimed at “intimidating voters”.
Around 3.8mn Burundians were eligible to vote in the polls, which closed at 4pm (1400 GMT).
Opposition and civil society groups have denounced Nkurunziza’s candidacy as unconstitutional, with many boycotting the polls.
Centres visited by AFP reporters in Bujumbura appeared quiet with few queues, although voting was busier in pro-Nkurunziza areas.
Nkurunziza himself turned up on a bicycle to vote in his home village of Buye, where turnout was high with long lines of voters.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged calm, calling on all sides to “refrain from any acts of violence that could compromise the stability of Burundi and the region”.
With the election denounced by the opposition as a sham, the 51-year-old president - a former rebel, born-again Christian and football fanatic - is facing no serious competition.
But critics say a win by the incumbent will be a hollow victory, leaving him ruling over a deeply divided nation.
Although eight candidates are on the ballot paper, most have already withdrawn from the race and those remaining are not seen as having a chance against the incumbent, having been unable to campaign due to the unrest and the closure of most independent media.
In one polling station, the Saint-Etienne school in the centre of the capital, voters were seen scrubbing off indelible ink from their fingers to avoid reprisals from opposition supporters boycotting the ballot.
“I do not want to return home with ink on the finger,” said one voter.
The International Crisis Group think-tank has warned that the situation has all the ingredients to kickstart renewed civil war.
“Despite a facade of pluralism, this is an election with only one candidate, where Burundians already know the outcome,” said the ICG’s Thierry Vircoulon.
Former colonial ruler and key donor Belgium said the polls “do not meet the minimal requirements of inclusiveness and transparency”, and repeated warnings it would “review its cooperation” with Bujumbura.
Anti-Nkurunziza protests have been violently repressed, leaving at least 100 people dead since late April. Many opponents have also fled - joining an exodus of over 150,000 ordinary Burundians who fear their country may again be engulfed by widespread violence.