East African bloc urges poll delay in Burundi

The East African Community (EAC) has urged Burundi to delay its elections set for June and wait for hundreds of thousands of refugees in the neighboring nations to come back to vote, EAC Secretary-General Richard Sezibera said on Friday.

"We think that hundreds of thousands of refugees who have gone out to neighboring countries need to come back and exercise their right to vote. That is why we think that conditions in Burundi are not ripe for elections. We therefore call for the postponement of elections," said Sezibera.

Ministers from EAC member states are visiting refugee camps in Burundi's neighboring countries to assess humanitarian needs, he said, adding that he has heard reports of cholera outbreaks in some of the refugee camps, notably in Tanzania.

"We condemn and regret unnecessary loss of life that continues to occur in Burundi and we call for restraint especially by security forces," he said.

The United Nations Refugee Agency estimates that more than 105, 000 Burundian have sought refuge in Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo since March amid fears of pre- election violence.

Burundi has been in turmoil since President Pierre Nkurunziza announced on April 25 that he will run for a third term despite warnings at home and abroad.

He also rejected the European Union and the United States calls to delay the elections.

Opponents say his bid is in defiance of the constitution that limits the president to two terms in office.

Clashes between protesters and police have left at least 25 deaths, local reports say. Endi