Burundi Presidential Election Delayed As Violence Spirals

 

Burundi's presidential election has been postponed to July 21,2015 from July 15, 2015 a presidential spokesman said on Saturday July 11,2015, after African leaders urged a delay to try to halt worsening violence in a nation that emerged from civil war only a decade ago.

Asked whether the election had been delayed, presidential spokesman Gervais Abayeho told "Postponed to July 21."
He said the president had signed the decree in response to a request from leaders of east African states plus South Africa.
The African nations had sought a delay until July 30 to give time for Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to try to mediate between the opposing groups. Abayeho said such a delay "would be beyond constitutional limits."
The constitution requires an election is held at least a month before the end of the president's term, which is Aug. 26,2015
 Rwanda was among the nations calling for a delay in the election, along with Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa

Burundi's opposition is boycotting the election, saying a decision by President Pierre Nkurunziza to seek a third term is unconstitutional.

Soldiers and unidentified gunmen clashed on Friday in Kayanza province, near Rwanda's border, a regional governor and officials said, further exacerbating tensions in a region with a history of ethnic conflict.
Kayanza Governor Canesius Ndayimanisha said the gunmen had crossed from Rwanda, a charge denied by Kigali but which will fan fears of a wider conflict.

Burundi's army and the government in Bujumbura had no comment on the latest clashes, in which the governor said two soldiers and two gunmen had been hurt. "The situation is now under control," Kayanza Governor Canesius Ndayimanisha told