![]() "This present electoral problem is the result of the last five years' rule of President Nkurunziza," Thierry Vircoulon, the project director for Central Africa at the International Crisis Group, writes via email. ![]() For the past five years, the president has pushed opposition leaders out of the country and restricted the press, the rights of independent political parties, and the freedom to protest. Nkurunziza's opponents have reason to distrust his intentions. The accord, which the constitution is supposed to implement, says "no one may serve more than two presidential terms" - seemingly ruling out a third term. Nkurunziza got the Supreme Court to approve his candidacy for a third term by arguing that because he was appointed to his first term, he has only run for president once, and is thus eligible to run again.īut protestors saw it as a violation of the 2000 Arusha Agreement, the peace accord that set the terms for Burundi's political order after the country's civil war ended in 2005. It's actually a little bit tricky to say whether Nkurunziza's run for a third term is illegal. The next day, protesters took the streets, calling the move an illegal power grab. On April 25, Nkurunziza's party, CNDD-FDD, nominated him for a third term as president in the country's elections, scheduled for June. General Niyombare's coup attempt appears to have arisen out of Burundi's mass protests, themselves a reaction to President Nkurunziza's bid for a third term in office. Posted by Pierre Olivier Blanchard on Wednesday, May 13, 2015 ![]() La foule euphorique se dirige place de l'independancele 3eme mandat s'est fini !!!! The coup attempt follows weeks of growing tension and violence ![]() It is not yet clear whether the coup attempt will calm the situation, or if it will cause the election-related violence to escalate into a more dangerous conflict. There was widespread concern that Nkurunziza's attempt to hold on to power could spark much more serious violence, perhaps even a civil war or mass killing of civilians. The coup attempt arose out of those weeks of tension. At least 19 people had been killed - and the UN estimates a staggering 50,000 have fled from their homes as a result of the violence. Since late April, protests against President Pierre Nkurunziza's legally-controversial reelection campaign have rocked the country's capital, Bujumbura. However, he was out of the country attending a summit in Tanzania when the coup was announced, and it is not yet clear whether he will be able to return to Burundi. The president contested Niyombare's claim, saying in a statement that an "imaginary coup" had been foiled. It is not yet clear whether the coup has been successful. Niyombare, an army officer who was Burundi's intelligence chief until Nkurunziza fired him three months ago, declared President Pierre Nkurunziza 's bid for a third term illegal, and announced that the president had been deposed. Burundians danced in the streets of their capital Wednesday morning after General Godefroid Niyombare announced a military coup against President Pierre Nkurunziza.
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