Grenade attacks disrupt start of Burundi's controversial polls

[MK254]

Assailants attacked numerous polling stations in Burundi overnight, disrupting the start of voting in controversial polls that follow two months of unrest over the president's bid for a third term.

Armed groups threw grenades at stations in both the capital Bujumbura and in some provinces ahead of Monday's parliamentary and local elections, delaying the start of voting in many of the centres, police and election officials said.

Voting has not yet begun in many centres in the capital because election officials are trying to prepare materials and in almost all of the stations, these arrived late because of the overnight attacks," Cyriaque Bucumi, the president of the Bujumbura electoral commission, told AFP.

The opposition and civil society groups are boycotting Monday's polls, saying the elections -- which the authorities have refused to delay despite calls from the international community -- will not be free and fair.

Burundi has been roiled by weeks of unrest that has included widespread protests and a failed coup bid and that has killed more than 70 people and send thousands fleeing the central African country following President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term.

Monday's vote is for local and parliamentary seats, with a presidential election due to follow on July 15.

Burundi was plunged into turmoil in late April when Nkurunziza launched his drive for a third consecutive five-year term, triggering widespread protests.

Opponents say his bid for another term is unconstitutional and violates a peace accord that paved the way to end 13 years of civil war in 2006.

Several top officials - including the deputy vice-president Gervais Rufyikiri as well as members of the election commission and constitutional court - have also fled the poverty-stricken, landlocked country.


Source: Daily nation
========================================

Update

Burundians voted for a new parliament on Monday, the first in a series of elections boycotted by the opposition after weeks of protests and violence triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision to seek a third term in office.

Gunshots echoed around the capital Bujumbura, the centre of opposition rallies against Nkurunziza and his government, overnight before voting began. Many polling stations opened late, witnesses said.

Despite mounting international criticism, the government has pressed on with the parliamentary vote and its plan for a presidential race on July 15, amid the deepest political crisis since an ethnically charged civil war ended in 2005.

More than 125,000 people, or more than 1 percent of the nation's 10 million population, have fled across the border, worrying a region with a history of ethnic conflict, particularly next-door Rwanda which suffered genocide in 1994.

Demonstrators say Nkurunziza is violating the constitution by seeking a third term. The president cites a court ruling saying he can run and has refused to back down, prompting opposition parties to say they would boycott all the polls.

Aimable Niyonkuru, 20, once a supporter of Nkurunziza's CNDD-FDD party, said he would not vote in Monday's vote for parliament and local councils because the president had not improved the economy or delivered on other promises.

"I am really disappointed about what all politicians are doing, I think that they are not patriotic," he said.

He was speaking in Bujumbura, the scene of frequent clashes between police and protesters since late April, when the president said he would seek another five-year term.

African states and Western donors had called for dialogue and a delay to voting, already pushed back several weeks due to the unrest, demanding the media was allowed to operate freely and other steps to ensure a fair vote.

The African Union said on Sunday it would not send observers as it did not believe voting would be free or fair. The United States and European Union nations have withheld some aid and threatened sanctions on those behind the violence.

The weeks of unrest that killed dozens of people has remained largely confined to the capital with only sporadic demonstrations in other urban centres.

Nkurunziza, who once led a rebel faction of the majority Hutu ethnic group against minority Tutsis during the civil war, has been counting mainly on his powerbase in rural regions.

Source:Reuters

 

[mob]

Mwenye lyrics za Wimbo wa Luckly dube Teach the World aweke hapa zinafaa kwa hali ya Burundi ya leo

 

[beth]

Burundians voted for a new parliament on Monday, the first in a series of elections boycotted by the opposition after weeks of protests and violence triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision to seek a third term in office.

Gunshots echoed around the capital Bujumbura, the centre of opposition rallies against Nkurunziza and his government, overnight before voting began. Many polling stations opened late, witnesses said.

Despite mounting international criticism, the government has pressed on with the parliamentary vote and its plan for a presidential race on July 15, amid the deepest political crisis since an ethnically charged civil war ended in 2005.

More than 125,000 people, or more than 1 percent of the nation's 10 million population, have fled across the border, worrying a region with a history of ethnic conflict, particularly next-door Rwanda which suffered genocide in 1994.

Demonstrators say Nkurunziza is violating the constitution by seeking a third term. The president cites a court ruling saying he can run and has refused to back down, prompting opposition parties to say they would boycott all the polls.

Aimable Niyonkuru, 20, once a supporter of Nkurunziza's CNDD-FDD party, said he would not vote in Monday's vote for parliament and local councils because the president had not improved the economy or delivered on other promises.

"I am really disappointed about what all politicians are doing, I think that they are not patriotic," he said.

He was speaking in Bujumbura, the scene of frequent clashes between police and protesters since late April, when the president said he would seek another five-year term.

African states and Western donors had called for dialogue and a delay to voting, already pushed back several weeks due to the unrest, demanding the media was allowed to operate freely and other steps to ensure a fair vote.

The African Union said on Sunday it would not send observers as it did not believe voting would be free or fair. The United States and European Union nations have withheld some aid and threatened sanctions on those behind the violence.

The weeks of unrest that killed dozens of people has remained largely confined to the capital with only sporadic demonstrations in other urban centres.

Nkurunziza, who once led a rebel faction of the majority Hutu ethnic group against minority Tutsis during the civil war, has been counting mainly on his powerbase in rural regions.

 

[mchambawima1]

yani Nkurunziza kweli hana mshipa wa noma hebu tazameni hapa watu walioudhulia huo uchaguzi...

 

[mchambawima1]

 

[MK254]

Duh!! jMali njoo uone foleni ndefu ya wapiga kura Burundi.

 

[MATHIAS KABYEMERA]

Wengi waliopiga kura ni wanajeshi na polisi. Ni masikitiko kwamba mpaka sasa marafiki zangu wawili wameuawa. Patrick aliyekuwa anasoma shahada ya kwanza ya Uandisi (Engineering) aliuawa na bomu la kurushwa kwa mkono wakati Theoghene aliye kuwa mwaka wa nne akisoma ualimu alipigwa risasi. Ni shida kweli nchini Burundi

 

[mukulupapaa]

Anachaguliwa kijeshi

 

[mockers]

Huyo ndo nkurunziza bana

 

[jMali]

Duh!! jMali njoo uone foleni ndefu ya wapiga kura Burundi.

where? mbona naona picha za upigaji kura wa maaskari tu? vituo vya civilians wapi picha zake?

 

[mchambawima1]

where? mbona naona picha za upigaji kura wa maaskari tu? vituo vya civilians wapi picha zake?

 

[Tiba]

Ehe hii kali yaani ni askari tu ndio wanapiga kura au hizo picha zimepigwa kwenye kituo cha kijeshi? Yaani hakuna raia hata mmoja? Ninahisi hapo ni ndani ya kambi ya jeshi bwana!!!!!


Tiba

 

[mchambawima1]

hawa jamaa watakula pesa yao kiulaini... halafu jMali mjomba wako Nkurunziza anasema eti huu ndio uchaguzi utakao piota vizuri kuliko chaguzi zote zilizo wahi kufanyika Burundi! maoni yako?

je hii ni nchi ndani ya nchi au vipi? huu mtaa hautaki kusikia uchaguzi kabisa

 

[mchambawima1]

Ehe hii kali yaani ni askari tu ndio wanapiga kura au hizo picha zimepigwa kwenye kituo cha kijeshi? Yaani hakuna raia hata mmoja? Ninahisi hapo ni ndani ya kambi ya jeshi bwana!!!!!


Tiba

ah wapi! raia wamejifungia majumbani, mitaa mingi myeupe, wachache wapenda ukabila ndio wamejitokeza kwenda kumpigia kura mjomba wao

na hapa ni kule kwao alipo zaliwa... kwingine kote kweupe

 

[Consultant]

Boycotting uchaguzi sometimes sio suluhisho. Ona sasa Nkurunziza amehamisia barracks kwenye vituo vya kupiga kura. Na kura lazima zitoshe. Njia pekee ya kumzuia huyu bwana ni kumchapa shaba kichwani

 

[R.B]

UCHAGUZI WA WABUNGE WAFANYIKA BURUNDI LICHA YA UPINZANI KUSUSA

Zoezi la upigaji kura nchini Burundi.
​

UCHAGUZI wa wabunge unaendelea nchini Burundi licha ya maandamano na ghasia dhidi ya uamuzi wa Rais Pierre Nkurunziza wa kutaka kuwania muhula wa tatu.

Baadhi ya vituo vya kupigia kura vilifunguliwa kwa kuchelewa baada ya maguruneti kurushwa.
Upinzani umesusia uchaguzi huo huku Muungano wa Ulaya ukieleza kuwa uchaguzi huo utazidisha mgogoro uliopo.
Umoja wa Afrika (AU) umekataa kutoa waangalizi ukisema kuwa baadhi ya masharti yaliowekwa hayajaafikiwa kwa uchaguzi kuwa huru na haki.

Rais Pierre Nkurunziza.​

Zaidi ya watu 70 wameuawa tangu mgogoro huo uanze huku takribani watu 130,000 wakilitoroka taifa hilo.
Chanzo: BBC

 

[kui]

yani Nkurunziza kweli hana mshipa wa noma hebu tazameni hapa watu walioudhulia huo uchaguzi...

Aisee!, halafu hawa wote ni wale loyal fans wake waliompigania juzi asiangushwe. Kama watu wamesusa wanajeshi wake wapo na lazima kieleweke. In other words.....

......whether you like it or not the show must go on!

 

[Jaslaws]

Watu wanapiga kura mpka basi nyie endeleeni kujidaganya..

 

[jMali]

According to vyombo vya habari:

Watu wanaogopa kwenda kupiga kura kutokana na hali ya usalama. Katika ngome za upinzani, mabomu ya mkono (grenades) yamerushwa kwenye vituo kadhaa vya kupigia kura, risasi zinapigwa vituoni, watu wamevamia vituo vya kura na kuchoma moto vifaa vya kura n.k Hali hiyo inawatisha raia wa kawaida kwenda kupiga kura, especially katika yale maeneo ya wapinzani. Wapinzani wanalazimisha watu kubaki nyumbani itafsiriwe kuwa watu hawataki uchaguzi, badala ya ukweli kuwa actually wanahofia usalama wao. Hii inafanya askari peke yao kujiamini kwenda kupiga kura wakati raia wakibaki majumbani.
Lakini katika hili la kujiuliza ni: Nkurunzinza hana tabu na uchaguzi, yeye ndio anataka ufanyike. Wapinzani wote tayari wameshasusia uchaguzi. Sasa sielewi kwa nini ni makatili namna hii. Kwa nini angalau wasiende kupiga kura mbovu na kuharibu kura badala yake wanaona bora wawaue wenzao wanaoshiriki uchaguzi?
Umoja wa mataifa na AU wametaka uchaguzi usitishwe kwa kuwa hautakuwa huru, as watu wametishiwa kwenda vituoni. Hali inaweza kuwa mbaya zaidi uchaguzi wa urais ukija maana huu ni wa wabunge tu.

Quotes and sources:

"All the opposition have unanimously decided to boycott the elections," said Charles Nditije, a key opposition leader, on Friday after a letter signed by all the country's opposition groups was handed to the election commission."

"Attackers in Burundi have set fire to a building storing election materials, two days ahead of key polls and following weeks of violence over President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid to stay in power."

source: Aljazeera

"Several polling stations have been attacked in the capital and in the provinces, according to police officials quoted by the AFP news agency on Monday."


"Witnesses told her the grenade was thrown at 0800 local time (0600 GMT) in Musaga where support for the opposition is strong."


"Voters queued up in several neighbourhoods seen as ruling party strongholds, while in many others, where there have been months of protests against the president's bid for a third term in office, almost no-one showed up to vote."


source: Burundi elections: 'Grenade' targets polling station - BBC News


cc:
MK254

 

[mchambawima1]

According to vyombo vya habari:

Watu wanaogopa kwenda kupiga kura kutokana na hali ya usalama. Katika ngome za upinzani, mabomu ya mkono (grenades) yamerushwa kwenye vituo kadhaa vya kupigia kura, risasi zinapigwa vituoni, watu wamevamia vituo vya kura na kuchoma moto vifaa vya kura n.k Hali hiyo inawatisha raia wa kawaida kwenda kupiga kura, especially katika yale maeneo ya wapinzani. Wapinzani wanalazimisha watu kubaki nyumbani itafsiriwe kuwa watu hawataki uchaguzi, badala ya ukweli kuwa actually wanahofia usalama wao. Hii inafanya askari peke yao kujiamini kwenda kupiga kura wakati raia wakibaki majumbani.
Lakini katika hili la kujiuliza ni: Nkurunzinza hana tabu na uchaguzi, yeye ndio anataka ufanyike. Wapinzani wote tayari wameshasusia uchaguzi. Sasa sielewi kwa nini ni makatili namna hii. Kwa nini angalau wasiende kupiga kura mbovu na kuharibu kura badala yake wanaona bora wawaue wenzao wanaoshiriki uchaguzi?
Umoja wa mataifa na AU wametaka uchaguzi usitishwe kwa kuwa hautakuwa huru, as watu wametishiwa kwenda vituoni. Hali inaweza kuwa mbaya zaidi uchaguzi wa urais ukija maana huu ni wa wabunge tu.

Quotes and sources:

"All the opposition have unanimously decided to boycott the elections," said Charles Nditije, a key opposition leader, on Friday after a letter signed by all the country's opposition groups was handed to the election commission."

"Attackers in Burundi have set fire to a building storing election materials, two days ahead of key polls and following weeks of violence over President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid to stay in power."

source: Aljazeera

"Several polling stations have been attacked in the capital and in the provinces, according to police officials quoted by the AFP news agency on Monday."


"Witnesses told her the grenade was thrown at 0800 local time (0600 GMT) in Musaga where support for the opposition is strong."


"Voters queued up in several neighbourhoods seen as ruling party strongholds, while in many others, where there have been months of protests against the president's bid for a third term in office, almost no-one showed up to vote."


source: Burundi elections: 'Grenade' targets polling station - BBC News

we jMali na analysis zako za kiinterahamwe huwa zinaniacha hoi sana!!! yaani hiyo miandishi yote ni ya kumtetea criminal mbaguzi mwenzako? haya sasa hbu tuambie uingereza kuna 3000 eligible voters lakini walio fika ubalozini kupiga kura ni watu 5, je na kwenyewe wameogopa mabomu?