Burundians vote for reforms extending presidential terms

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Burundians have voted to back constitutional reforms that bolster President Pierre Nkurunziza's power and could allow him another two terms in office.

Election commission chief Pierre-Claver Ndayicariye said 73 percent of people voted "Yes" in a referendum last Thursday, which the opposition and rights groups have claimed took place in a climate of fear and repression.

Spoiled ballots made up four percent of votes cast on a turnout of 96 percent. The results are provisional and must be validated by the constitutional court within nine days.

Referendum controversy

Nkurunziza, who has been in power since 2005, plunged his tiny east African nation into crisis in 2015 when he circumvented a constitutional two-term limit, arguing his first term came after an election by parliament.

The move sparked angry protests, a government crackdown, coup attempt and widespread abuses which prompted the International Criminal Court (ICC) to launch a probe into the atrocities.

Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza casts his ballot at a polling center during the constitutional amendment referendum in Ngozi province, Burundi, May 17, 2018. /VCG Photo

This angered Burundi which became the first country to withdraw from the ICC. At least 1,200 people have died and 400,000 been displaced, according to the international court.

The constitutional reforms, which include measures that hand more power to Nkurunziza and his ruling CNDD-FDD, change term limits to seven years, meaning the 54-year-old could start again from scratch in 2020.

Intimidation claims

Observers had widely expected the reforms to pass, partly due to support Nkurunziza holds in rural areas, but also due to a three-year crackdown on dissent, the media and civil society.

A presidential decree ruled earlier this month that anyone advising voters to boycott the vote risked up to three years in jail.

The massive turnout bolstered the legitimacy of the vote, although rights groups and the opposition argue it is fear and intimidation which drove Burundians to the polls.

Burundi's opposition leader Agathon Rwasa is processed by an electoral official before casting his ballot at a polling centre during the constitutional amendment referendum in Ngozi province, Burundi, May 17, 2018. /VCG Photo

"The electoral process has been neither free nor transparent, nor independent and still less democratic," former rebel leader and main opposition chief Agathon Rwasa said in a statement on Saturday. The US State Department issued a statement saying the government had allowed vigorous opposition campaigning but criticizing "a climate of fear and intimidation."

Nkurunziza himself warned those who dared "sabotage" plans to revise the constitution would be crossing a "red line."

Accusations rejected

The Bujumbura government routinely rejects accusations of repression and violence, accusing foreign NGOs, rights groups and media of peddling a campaign of lies against the government.

Presidential adviser Willy Nyamitwe said these groups were "embarked on a campaign to tarnish the image of Burundi," in an interview with Kenya's KTN News over the weekend. He said the country was "at peace," blaming violence on elements crossing the border from Rwanda or the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Peace deal fears

Critics say the referendum has struck a death blow to the Arusha peace deal, signed in 2000, however.

The accord ended Burundi's 1993-2006 civil war and ushered in measures to ensure power would not be concentrated in either the hands of the majority Hutu or minority Tutsi, after decades of violence between the communities.

(With inputs from agencies)

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