A senior Burundian opposition official on Saturday criticised the African Union (AU) for labelling the country’s recent parliamentary elections “credible,” despite widespread accusations of irregularities and voter intimidation.
The AU’s Peace and Security Council had posted on X, congratulating Burundi, Comoros, and Gabon for holding “credible elections” after reviewing votes from the past six months.
However, Burundi’s ruling party, led by President Evariste Ndayishimiye, secured every parliamentary seat with an overwhelming 96 per cent of the vote last month.
Allegations of Ballot Stuffing and Lack of Competition
Rights groups, the Catholic Church, and the opposition have all cited serious issues with the election, pointing to the effective barring of key opposition figures from participating.
An anonymous senior official from the opposition Uprona party expressed distress, stating, “It is distressing to see the African Union give [Burundi’s election commission] a free pass… when the Catholic Church, which had the most electoral observers, identified numerous irregularities.”
The official further claimed, “We noted serious irregularities, sometimes very blatant, such as ballot boxes stuffed even before the polling stations opened, and on an unprecedented scale.”
They suggested the AU is “losing what little credibility it had in terms of election observation,” viewing it as a body where “heads of state… protect each other.”
Human Rights Watch characterised the election as “devoid of genuine political competition,” citing intimidation, harassment, and threats against voters by the ruling party.
The Catholic Church, a significant presence in Burundi, also reported observing “suspicious ballot stuffing” and officials coercing voters to cast their vote in a particular way.
Burundi, with three-quarters of its 12 million people living below the poverty line, is ranked as the world’s poorest country by the World Bank’s 2023 GDP per capita index.
