BURUNDI – More than 10 000 flee to neighboring states amidst electoral unrest.

According to a preliminary statement by United Nations (UN) Electoral Observation Mission, the elections which started off this week in Burundi with the parliamentary have been reported to be unfair and full of human rights violations. The observers have reported that the recent civil unrest in the country has greatly affected the electoral process which has been characterized by high tensions. The African Union (AU) and other organizations have made similar observations in this regard. Meanwhile the National Independent Electoral Commission has suffered a major setback as two of its members have resigned since June 1st. These two are said to have resigned because the necessary conditions were not in place for a free and fair election.

Burundians have been out to cast their votes accompanied by episodes of violence mostly in Bujumbura. Cases of homes raided to seek opposition to Nkurunziza’s third term of office on Wednesday resulted in the death of at least five people including two children. United Nations officials have promised to investigate these deaths.

This comes in the wake of this week’s appalling report of about 10 000 refugees recorded to have fled from Burundi for fear of the outcome of the electoral period. State borders, a UNHCR official said, were closed for 48 hours – a practice related to elections in Burundi. This has not stopped Burundians from streaming into neighboring countries through other means in fear for their lives. The situation is critical, women and children wait at the shore of Tanganyika to be transferred by boat to refugee champs.

Thus far, some 144 000 Burundians have been registered as refugees in neighboring countries since early April when the chaos started not counting the many others believed to have by passed registration. Official figures report some 66 000 in Tanzania, 56 000 in Rwanda, 9,038 in Uganda, 11,500 in DRC Congo, and 400 in Zambia.
This civil unrest started in April after the ruling CNDD-FDD party elected Pierre Nkurunziza as its candidate for the 2015 presidential elections originally scheduled for June 26. Pierre Nkurunziza has been in power since 2005 and many find his attempt at a third term in office unconstitutional and contrary to the 2000 Arusha peace and reconciliation agreement that ended a decade of civil war in the country

The UN organ in charge of refugees seem to have anticipated measures, even though crucial services like water, health and sanitation are seriously underfunded. The Regional Refugee Response plan was launched in the month of May to assist up to 200 000 thousand refugees. The situation in Burundi is worsening daily and the plan running below its target. The Secretary General of the UN, Ban ki Moon has encouraged authorities to postpone elections until a conducive environment for inclusive peaceful and transparent elections. Burundians are however expected to go back to the polling stations on July 15.

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