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Burundi set to suspend electoral timetable

Xinhua, June 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

Burundi's National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) said Tuesday it will soon announce the suspension of the entire electoral timetable.

CENI's announcement comes just a day after the Burundian government welcomed the proposal by the East African Community (EAC) for the postponement of the country's elections for one and half months though the meeting did not touch the issue of president Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term.

Despite international criticism over Nkurunziza's move for re- election, Burundi's government has insisted that the president's decision should not be "discussed".

"CENI has conducted a technical analysis that will soon be validated by competent authorities. Within hours or some days, a decision will be made by this competent authority," CENI chairman Pierre Claver Ndayicariye said.

According to Ndayicariye, the EAC leaders asked that the postponement should not disrupt the good conduct of the elections, but should be used to safeguard peace and security and enable Burundi avert an institutional vacuum.

Last week, the vice-chairperson of CENI, Spes-Caritas Ndironkeye, and Illuminata Ndabahagamye in charge of administration and finance fled Burundi amid raging protests against president's efforts for re-election.

Burundi was plunged in a political crisis following the April 25 decision by President Pierre Nkurunziza to contest for a third term in the forthcoming elections.

Since then, protests against his third term bid have intensified, especially in the capital Bujumbura, leaving 30 people dead.

Some senior military officials attempted a coup last month when Nkurunziza went to Tanzania to attend an EAC meeting on the political stand-off in his country. They were arrested and the coup failed when the president managed to get back to Burundi a few days later.

The opposition and civil society organizations have accused Nkurunziza of violating the Constitution and the Arusha Peace Agreement that limits the number of presidential terms to two. Supporters however argue that his first term does not count as he was appointed by parliament, not elected in a universal suffrage. Endi