United Nations Says Burundi Election Was Not Free, Fair Or Credible

People stand in a long queue to cast their votes at a polling station in Ngozi during a parliamentary election in Burundi June 29, 2015. Reuters Photo

Burundi's parliamentary election was not free, fair, transparent or credible and violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms were committed, the United Nations said on Thursday.

Burundi has been locked in its worst political crisis since its civil war ended a decade ago, with protests erupting in late April against President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid to seek a third term in office. Dozens have been killed.

The opposition boycotted the parliamentary election on Monday. A presidential vote is scheduled for July 15. Opponents say the president's attempt to stand again violates the constitution.

U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said the preliminary conclusion of the U.N. electoral observer mission in Burundi was that "the overall environment was not conducive for free, credible and inclusive elections."

"Episodes of violence and explosions preceded and in some cases accompanied election day activities," Haq said. "The U.N. mission ... observed media freedom restrictions, violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms."

"This includes infringements to the right of the political opposition to campaign freely, extra-judicial killings, arbitrary detentions, and acts of violence committed by armed youth groups aligned with political parties," he said.

At least six people, including one policeman, were killed in Burundi's capital on Wednesday, witnesses and a police spokesman said.

About 140,000 people have fled the country, stoking concern in a region with a history of ethnic conflict, particularly in Rwanda, where 800,000 people were killed in 1994.

New Zealand's U.N. Ambassador Gerard van Bohemen, president of the U.N. Security Council for July, said the 15-member body expressed concern "that the minimum conditions for free, fair, transparent and credible elections were not met."

Burundi Celebrates Independence Amid Political Violence

Meanwhile World Bulletin / News Desk reports Burundi celebrated its 53rd year of independence Wednesday amid rising tensions and political violence in the country’s capital.

Burundi gained its independence from Belgium on July 1, 1962 and changed its name from Ruanda-Urundi to Burundi.

An official ceremony was held to celebrate the occasion at the Prince Louis Rwagasore stadium in Bujumbura, with embattled President Pierre Nkurunziza in attendance.

After a military parade, Nkurunziza delivered a speech calling on Burundians to love their country.

He also decorated eleven soldiers and one civilian, praising them for having "played a remarkable role in countering... the failed May 13 coup."

Six people were killed on Wednesday, including one police officer, during clashes in the north of Burundi's capital between protestors and police over Nkurunziza's plan to run for a third term.

Burundi has been rocked by protest since the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy named President Pierre Nkurunziza – in power since 2005 – its candidate for the July 15 presidential polls.

The situation took a turn for the worse earlier last May when a group of army generals staged a failed coup attempt against Nkurunziza while he was attending a regional summit in Tanzania.

The opposition says Nkurunziza does not have the right to seek a third term, citing Burundi's constitution, which limits the number of terms a president can serve to two.

However, Burundi's Constitutional Court recently ruled that Nkurunziza's third-term bid would not violate the constitution.

The court ruled that, since he was elected in 2005 by parliament and not by the people, Nkurunziza's first stint in office should not be counted as a first presidential term per se.