Burundian presidential election, 2010

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Burundian presidential election, 2010
Flag of Burundi.svg
  2005 28 June 2015  

  Pierre Nkurunziza - World Economic Forum on Africa 2008.jpg
Nominee Pierre Nkurunziza
Party CNDD-FDD
Popular vote 2,479,483
Percentage 91.62%

President before election

Pierre Nkurunziza
CNDD-FDD

Elected President

Pierre Nkurunziza
CNDD-FDD

Coat of arms of Burundi.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Burundi

Presidential elections were held in Burundi on 28 June 2010. As a result of withdrawals and alleged fraud and intimidation, incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza was the only candidate.

Burundi country in Africa

Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country amid the African Great Lakes region where East and Central Africa converge. The capital is Gitega, having moved from Bujumbura in February 2019. The southwestern border is adjacent to Lake Tanganyika.

Pierre Nkurunziza politician

Pierre Nkurunziza is a Burundian politician who has been President of Burundi since 2005. He was the Chairman of the National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD), the ruling party, until he was elected as President of Burundi.

Contents

Background

Although the previous presidential election in 2005 had been carried out by the Parliament, the 2010 elections were direct. In early March 2010, the run-up to the election was described as "explosive" due to a combination of demobilized former combatants and violence between youth activists in the ruling CNDD-FDD and opposition FRODEBU. [1]

National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy

The National Council for the Defense of Democracy–Forces for the Defense of Democracy is the current ruling party in Burundi. During the Burundian Civil War, the CNDD-FDD was the most significant rebel group active and became a major political party in Burundi. In March 2012, Pascal Nyabenda was elected as President of CNDD-FDD. Then on 20 August 2016, General Evariste Ndayishimiye was, in the extraordinary congress that took place in Gitega, elected as the Secretary General of the Party.

Front for Democracy in Burundi political party

The Front for Democracy in Burundi is a Hutu progressive political party in Burundi.

Following the Burundi Civil War, between the Tutsi and Hutu (similar to Rwanda), the National Liberation Forces (FNL) were brought into the legal political sphere and were said to be the incumbent Pierre Nkurunziza's most viable opposition. However, as a result of a campaign of intimidation in the run up to the vote, as well as alleging fraud in earlier local elections, all the other candidates withdrew from the ballot leaving only Nkurunziza. [2] On 1 June 2010, five opposition candidates, including Agathon Rwasa, who was considered the strongest contender, withdrew from the elections, alleging that the government intended to rig it. [3]

Tutsi ethnic group inhabiting the African Great Lakes region

The Tutsi, or Abatutsi, are a social class or ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. Historically, they were often referred to as the Watutsi, Watusi, Wahuma, Wahima or the Wahinda. The Tutsi form a subgroup of the Banyarwanda and the Barundi peoples, who reside primarily in Rwanda and Burundi, but with significant populations also found in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. They speak Rwanda-Rundi, a group of Bantu languages.

The Hutu, also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group native to the African Great Lakes region of Africa, primarily area now under Burundi and Rwanda. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi, and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the principal population divisions alongside the Tutsi and the Twa.

Agathon Rwasa is a Burundian politician and the leader of the National Liberation Forces. He was a Hutu militia leader during the Burundi Civil War.

Following further similarities with Rwanda, ethnic tensions between Tutsi and Hutu were seen in the lead up to the Rwandan presidential election in the same year. Bombings there were blamed on the Interhamwe.

Conduct

The day before the election three grenade attacks were reported in the early hours of the morning. Two attacks in the Buyenzi and Kamesa districts of Bujumbura caused no injuries, but an explosion in the western town of Kanyosha killed one person and wounded two. The person killed was reportedly an FNL official. Another man was shot dead in Bujumbaura's Musanga neighbourhood in a suspected politically motivated attack. [4] On election day, three more grenade attacks occurred in Bujumbura, while two more exploded in the north of the country. In all, at least eight people were killed and more than 60 wounded after the opposition candidates pulled out of the elections. [5]

Bujumbura Place in Bujumbura Mairie Province, Burundi

Bujumbura, formerly Usumbura, is the former capital, largest city and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. It is on the north-eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, the second deepest lake in the world after Lake Baikal.

The FNL were suspected of being behind the grenade attacks, with local police searching the home of party leader Agathon Rwasa. However, the FNL denied involvement in the attacks and claimed Rwasa was being targeted for political reasons. According to Alexis Sinduhije, chairman of the Movement for Solidarity and Development, police also arrested six members of his party. [5]

Alexis Sinduhije is a Burundian journalist and politician. After founding Radio Publique Africaine during the Burundi Civil War, Sinduhije received a CPJ International Press Freedom Award and was named to the Time 100 list of most influential people. In 2007, he left journalism to run for president, but was arrested in 2008 on a charge of "insulting the president," Pierre Nkurunziza, drawing protests on his behalf from the U.S., U.K., and Amnesty International. He was found not guilty and released in 2009. The film "Kamenge, Northern Quarters" follows Sinduhije before, during, and after his incarceration.

The Movement for Solidarity and Development is a political party in the Republic of the Congo. The MSD is led by Serge Blanchard Oba, who was Administrator-General of the Congo Telecommunications Company (SOTELCO) from 2003 to 2008.

The East African Community – comprising Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania – urged all parties to ensure a smooth and democratic election. [5]

Results

In the FNL bastion of Kanyosha, only a handful of voters turned out to vote, compared to hundreds who voted in the local council elections a month before. The chair of an international observation mission, Lydie Nzengou, affirmed during the day that the turnout was much lower. [5]

PartyCandidateVotes%
Pierre Nkurunziza CNDD–FDD 2,479,48391.62
Against226,9198.38
Invalid/blank votes29,356
Total2,735,758100
Registered voters/turnout3,553,37276.98
Source: AFP, People's Daily Online

Aftermath

Following the elections, Rwasa went into hiding due to speculation that the government wanted to arrest him on charges of planning a new insurgency. He was quoted as saying that "They're [the government] looking for me because I told the truth, because I said publicly that I don't accept the results of the local elections. [Last] Wednesday they wanted to arrest me again. I got wind of it and I disappeared from circulation." It was presumed that he was in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [6]

In late September 2010, 14 bodies were founded gagged and bound. Authorities blamed "unidentified armed bandits," but also said "Twenty-two criminals were arrested and are detained in Mpimba prison [in Bujumbura] while 20 others were arrested in the Democratic Republic of Congo and are being interrogated." Police sources added that most of those arrested belonged to the opposition Movement for Solidarity and Democracy and the National Liberation Forces. [7]

Related Research Articles

History of Burundi aspect of history

Burundi is one of the few countries in Africa, along with its closely linked neighbour Rwanda among others, to be a direct territorial continuation of a pre-colonial era African state.

Human occupation of Rwanda is thought to have begun shortly after the last ice age. By the 16th century, the inhabitants had organized into a number of kingdoms. In the 19th century, Mwami (king) Rwabugiri of the Kingdom of Rwanda conducted a decades-long process of military conquest and administrative consolidation that resulted in the kingdom coming to control most of what is now Rwanda. The colonial powers, Germany and Belgium, allied with the Rwandan court.

Domitien Ndayizeye is a Burundian politician who was President of Burundi from 2003 to 2005. He succeeded Pierre Buyoya, as president on 30 April 2003, after serving as Buyoya's vice president for 18 months. Ndayizeye remained in office until succeeded by Pierre Nkurunziza on 26 August 2005.

Burundian Civil War civil war in Burundi between 1993-2005

The Burundian Civil War was an armed conflict lasting from 1993 to 2005. The civil war was the result of long standing ethnic divisions between the Hutu and the Tutsi ethnic groups in Burundi. The conflict began following the first multi-party elections in the country since independence from Belgium in 1962, and is seen as formally ending with the swearing in of Pierre Nkurunziza in August 2005. Children were widely used by both sides in the war. The estimated death toll stands at 300,000.

Gatumba Place in Burundi

The village of Gatumba lies on the western side of Burundi, near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The place is known for a massacre that took place at a refugee camp connected to the village.

The Titanic Express massacre was an event which took place on 28 December 2000, in which 21 people were killed in an attack on a Titanic Express bus, close to Bujumbura.

National Liberation Front (Burundi)

The National Liberation Front is an ethnically Hutu political party in Burundi that was formerly active as militant rebel group before and during the Burundian Civil War.

Since Burundi's independence in 1962, there have been two events called genocides in the country. The 1972 mass killings of Hutus by the Tutsi-dominated army, and the 1993 mass killings of Tutsis by the majority-Hutu populace are both described as genocide in the final report of the International Commission of Inquiry for Burundi presented to the United Nations Security Council in 1996.

National Forces of Liberation

The National Forces of Liberation is a political party and former rebel group in Burundi. An ethnic Hutu group, the party was previously known as the Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People.

These are some of the articles related to Burundi on the English Wikipedia:

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Presidential elections were held in Rwanda on 9 August 2010, the second since the Rwandan Civil War. Incumbent President Paul Kagame of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) was re-elected for a second seven-year term with 93% of the vote.

2015 Burundian legislative election

Parliamentary elections were held in Burundi on 29 June 2015. The vote had been initially set for 5 June 2015, alongside local elections, but it was delayed due to unrest. Indirect elections to the Senate occurred on 24 July.

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Burundian unrest (2015–present)

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References

  1. Tensions High in Run-Up to Elections IRIN, 4 March 2010
  2. "Burundi set for one-name vote – Africa". Al Jazeera English. 2010-06-28. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  3. "Burundi opposition candidates to boycott presidential poll". Reuters. 2010-06-01. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  4. "Attacks mar Burundi poll build-up – Africa". Al Jazeera English. 2010-06-28. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Violence scars Burundi election – Africa". Al Jazeera English. 2010-06-29. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  6. "Burundi opposition leader in hiding – Africa". Al Jazeera English. 2010-06-30. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  7. Bodies found in Burundi river Al Jazeera, 23 September 2010