Burundi Election UpdateMay 2010

On Monday, Burundi held its municipal elections, the first in a series of 5 over the next few months, and the first since the last rebel group put down their weapons and ended the civil war.

Problems with insufficient voting papers in some polling stations meant the vote had been delayed from Friday 21st. The vote proceeded peacefully, with a huge turnout – official figures suggest around 90% of Burundian’s voted – and many queued from the early morning to ensure they had a chance to cast their vote.

Provisional results show a clear victory for the ruling CNDD-FDD party, receiving an average of 80% of the vote in the constituencies that have declared. However, opposition parties have expressed concern over the vote. An alliance of 8 parties have signed a joint statement alleging fraud, their main points are:

• Election observers from opposition parties were refused access to the vote count in some areas.


• In some places there were reports of ballot boxes being tampered with by election officials.


• The postponement of the poll gave an opportunity to manipulate the results.

The National Electoral Commission has denied these allegations.

Attending the vote, I noticed some administrative problems – mistakes were made in the lists of voters, and there was a lack of voting cards in some place. Also, the margin of victory for the ruling party is so large, that it raises the question of whether these were truly multi-party elections, and if the vote was free and fair.

In many ways the election was a success, they were peaceful and there was a huge turnout. But, questions over the counting, the transport of ballot boxes, and the size of the CNDD-FDD victory, need to be answered if Burundians are to be sure the elections are credible.

Bosco, Amahoro Youth Club, Burundi