Niyongabo Jules, one of the candidates who ran for a seat in Burundi’s National Assembly, has condemned the manner in which the country’s recent elections were conducted, asserting that vote rigging took place.
Niyongabo made these remarks after the results of the June 5 parliamentary elections were announced yesterday, revealing that the ruling party, CNDD-FDD, won 100% of the vote.
This means that CNDD-FDD will be the only party represented in the National Assembly, aside from the three Batwa (indigenous) representatives.
In a press briefing on Wednesday, June 11, following the announcement by the Independent Electoral Commission, Niyongabo declared that even the single vote he cast for himself was stolen and given to CNDD-FDD.
He said:
“We knew Burundi had certain problems, but it turns out there are even deeper issues that will require enormous effort for us Burundians to overcome this period where elections happen, and yet people find that their votes don’t count. Personally, when I voted, I received a blank result — even my own vote was gone.”
Niyongabo expressed his dismay, stating that like many other Burundians, he was deeply disappointed by how the elections unfolded.
He also said he was shocked that all votes went to CNDD-FDD, something unprecedented in Burundi’s history.
He added:
“During Ndadaye’s time, Burundians were more worn out than they are today, yet he never received more than 60%, not even 70%. Even Rwagasore, despite leading the fight against colonialism, never reached 70%.”
He continued:
“Those were much harder times than today, and one would expect Burundians to have given those two leaders 80 or 90%, but that never happened.”
Opposition parties such as UPRONA and CNL have also rejected the election results.
During the voting process, some citizens reported being escorted into polling booths and forced to vote for the ruling party.
Others said they arrived at polling centers only to find their ballots had already been cast on their behalf.
