By Laura Hirahara
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa 
Bujumbura, Burundi – Pierre Nkunrunziza, incumbent president of Burundi. Observers are concerned that Burundi’s elections scheduled for Monday will throw the country back into violence just 5 years after a civil war that lasted 12 years and claimed an estimated 300,000 lives. Currently, incumbent president Pierre Nkurunziza is the only candidate in the upcoming presidential race and as such is poised to win. All opposing candidates have withdrawn from the race alleging election fraud at the local level in spite of requests from the international community for them to rejoin. Among the candidates who have dropped out is Agathon Rwasa who is rumored to be in hiding in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rwasa is the former rebel leader of the National Liberation Forces which surrendered last year, five years after the other warring groups agreed to create a power sharing government.
African Union head, Jean Ping, issued a statement urging those in Burundi who would protest the elections to use only legal means to do so. “He is appealing urgently to all the political actors to refrain from any action likely to lead Burundi back to the horrors of the past and that could jeopardise the political and democratic progress of the past few years,” the statement continued.
Despite Ping’s plea, almost forty grenade attacks have occurred in the past two weeks alone. The worst of these, a grenade attack at a bar that injured twenty people, took place in Kayanza in northern Burundi. Another grenade attack in Muramvya left one child injured. In addition, numerous political offices across the country have been set on fire. While suspects are in custody, the tension created by the local elections is only serving to escalate acts of violence throughout Burundi. Defence Minister Germain Niyoyankana acknowledged the increase in grenade attacks following the opposition’s rejection of the local election results saying, “The situation is still under control . . .[but t]he same Burundians who were responsible for the crisis we went through are still around. They may still have they same mindset.”
For more information please see:
American Free Press, AU concerned about Burundi poll, 25 June, 2010
American Free Press, 21 hurt in new Burundi grenade attacks: police, 19 June, 2010
BBC News, African Union warns Burundi politicians ahead of vote, 25 June, 2010
BBC News, Burundi mystery over ex-rebel chief Rwasa’s whereabouts, 24 June, 2010
