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Burundi holds village-based elections amid violence

Xinhua, August 24, 2015 Adjust font size:

At least 3.8 million Burundian citizens are Monday going to the polls in village-based elections, the last elections that are concluding the country's 2015 controversial electoral process amid mounting violence in the east African nation.

At least 2,847 chiefs of villages and neighborhoods are to be elected countrywide in the village-based elections that are concluding the country's electoral race whose first elections took place on June 29 with legislative and communal polls.

The spokesman at the Burundian home affairs ministry has invited all Burundian citizens to respond to the elections.

"We take this opportunity to invite all citizens to massively participate in the village-based (elections). All of us Burundians from villages and neighborhoods are appealed to go and elect village leaders, that is, five persons per village or neighborhood that includes the village chief," said Therence Ntahiraja, spokesman at the country's home affairs ministry.

According to Ntahiraja, village or neighborhood chiefs are elected as independent candidates and not as part of their political parties.

According to him, those elections are important for the development of the smallest administration entity.

"Those (village or neighborhood) leaders are very important because they are the ones through whom citizens channel their issues to be taken to the zonal, communal or provincial level because the village or the neighborhood is the root of the administration," said Ntahiraja.

He called on all Burundian citizens to do all they can to support their friends in their native villages so that elections are carried out even better that before.

Meanwhile, the village-based elections are taking place while violence is mounting in the east African nation.

The latest violence case is the assassination on Saturday night of Pontien Barutwanayo, administrator of Isale Commune in Bujumbura Rural Province.

The opposition boycotted the country's 2015 electoral race, arguing that conditions were not met for credible and inclusive elections due to the third term bid of Burundian president Pierre Nkurunziza that they said was a violation of the national Constitution and the 2000 Arusha Agreement. Endit