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Pie
Ntavyohanyuma
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Burundi's parliamentary speaker Pie Ntavyohanyuma said on Sunday,
on the eve of a parliamentary election, that he had fled Burundi in fear of his
life after opposing President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term in
office.
Burundi has been in
turmoil since April, when Nkurunziza said he would seek a third term,
triggering weeks of protests, and an abortive military coup last month.
"I was forced to
quit the country due to the unrest caused by the president's insistence on
seeking a third term, which is illegal, which is unconstitutional,"
Ntavyohanyuma told France 24 television from Belgium.
"I personally
advised President Nkurunziza to drop his plan for a third term, but his answer
was to threaten me, to humiliate me."
Reuters report continues:
At least three people
were killed overnight in the capital Bujumbura, residents said, a day before
parliamentary and elections taking place amid an opposition boycott and fears
of violence.
Nkurunziza's opponents
say his decision to stand again violates the constitution as well as a peace
deal that ended a civil war in 2005. Nkurunziza cites a constitutional court
ruling saying he can run again, although the court's vice president, another of
those who have fled, said he and others had been pressured to rule in favour of
Nkurunziza.
Dozens have been killed
in months of unrest, including an opposition leader, and the U.N. refugee
agency UNHCR says 127,000 have fled Burundi. The opposition is boycotting both
Monday's vote and the presidential election on July 15.
Officials Fleeing
Last week, Second Vice
President Gervais Rufyikiri also said he had fled to Belgium, Burundi's former
colonial ruler, for the same reason. In May, the vice presidents of Burundi's
election commission and the constitutional court also fled.
Overnight in Bujumbura, a
police officer shot and killed a 25-year-old university student in the Jabe
neighbourhood while he was returning home from visiting family, his brother
told Reuters on Sunday, giving his name only as Alexis because he feared for
his safety.
Still visibly in shock,
he said he had seen the policeman shoot his brother, adding: "Patrick was
stabbed with a bayonet by the same policeman."
Also in Jabe, another man
was killed in a suspected grenade attack, while in the Kanyosha neighbourhood,
one soldier was shot dead by another, residents said.
A Reuters correspondent
heard a number of loud explosions during the night in other parts of the city,
accompanied by the sound of gunfire. Police could not be reached for comment.
The European Union has
warned that it might impose sanctions on those responsible for pre-election
violence and consider other steps against Burundi, which depends heavily on
foreign aid.
Government and opposition
groups failed last week to agree on a proposal to postpone both elections,
already delayed once after April's violence, until July 30.
U.N. Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon has called for a postponement, and the United States, the European
Union, the Netherlands and Belgium have cut some aid.
"President
Nkurunziza has to understand that the parliament and local elections that are
due this Monday are meaningless," Ntavyohanyuma said.
"He has to
understand several voices that asked him to organize a political dialogue for a
free, inclusive and transparent election."
The government was not
immediately available to respond to his remarks.
African Union refuse to act as observer in Burundi's
parliamentary elections
The African Union said on
Sunday it would not act as observer in Burundi's parliamentary elections on
Monday because conditions were unsuitable for free, fair, transparent and
credible elections.
Opposition parties have
said they will boycott the vote in protest at President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid
for a third term in a presidential election next month. They have also voiced
concerns that voting will not be fair, aggravating Burundi's worst political
crisis since a civil war ended in 2005.
"Noting that the
necessary conditions are not met for the organization of free, fair,
transparent and credible elections ... the AU Commission will not observe the
local and parliamentary elections scheduled to take place this Monday,"
Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, the commission's chairwoman, said in a statement.
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