Democracy 'improving' in Burundi

Gunshots and small blasts kept people away from election booths in opposition areas on Tuesday, where barricades were put up in protest against President Nkurunziza, But turnout was high in his hometown Ngozi in northern Burundi.

"These elections prove that democracy in Burundi is improving," Nkurunziza told reporters after casting his ballot.

At least three people were killed on the eve of the polls. They included a policeman and an opposition member in the capital Bujumbura, police spokesman Pierre Nkurikiye told the DPA news agency. He also mentioned a third civilian dying in the violence.

Nkurunziza likely to win amid opposition boycott

According to the Arusha Agreement which ended a 12-year-long civil war in 2005, a Burundian president can only be elected for two terms. But Nkurunziza's supporters argue that their leader is eligible to contest polls for a third term because he was chosen by lawmakers for his first stint in 2005 and not directly elected by the people.

Violent protests by opposing parties broke out in Burundi in April after Nkurunziza announced his bid for re-election. More than 100 died in demonstrations against the president's attempt to seek office for a third term. The unrest triggered a military coup that failed against pro-Nkurunziza forces.

The president delayed the elections twice, from June 26 to July 15 and then to July 20 after pressure from the African Union, the European Union and the US. But he ignored calls from Ugandan mediators not to conduct elections until an agreement with the opposition parties was reached. Peace talks between the warring parties were disrupted last weekend.

With the opposition boycotting the elections, only Nkurunziza's ruling CNDD-FDD and its allied parties were participating in the polls, making the president's victory almost a certainty.

US questions poll's legitimacy

Meanwhile, the United States on Tuesday question the credibility of Burundi's elections.

"The government's insistence on going forward with presidential elections on Tuesday risks its legitimacy in the eyes of its citizens and of the international community," US State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

"More serious is the risk of unraveling the fragile progress made through the implementation of the Arusha Agreement, which states clearly that no Burundi president shall serve more than two terms," Kirby added.

Nkurunziza's party won most of the seats in parliamentary elections on June 29, which were also boycotted by the opposition. Rights activists fear the presidential election may serve to divide Burundians.

More than 160,000 people have left the country fearing violence from the ruling party's youth wing, the Imbonerakure, and around 1,000 people are streaming into neighboring Tanzania every day, according to Doctors Without Borders.

mg/msh (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)