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Archbishop Simon
Ntamwana leads a church service in Shombo, Burundi on March 15, 2015. (Image source: news.yahoo.com)
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The Catholic Church in Burundi says it no longer
supports the government's decision to hold elections next month amid political
unrest over President Pierre Nkurunziza's third term.
AP reports the Conference of
Catholic Bishops of Burundi said in a statement Thursday that they were
withdrawing from an earlier agreement with the government that would have seen
priests monitoring elections across the country. Parliamentary elections are
set for June 5, and presidential elections for June 26.
The government says
elections must go ahead because a postponement would create a dangerous
political vacuum.
Critics say the
political environment is too unstable to hold elections, with almost daily
street demonstrations in the nation's capital, Bujumbura.
In their statement
Thursday, the Catholic bishops said they can't condone elections that are
"full of gaps."
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