Nkurunziza wins controversial 3rd term in Burundi

President Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi has been declared winner of Tuesday’s presidential election, securing another term of five years in office.

Pierre Ndayicariye, head of the country’s electoral commission, announced the result at the presidential palace in Bujumbura, capital of the country, on Friday.

He said Nkurunziza won 69.41% of the votes ahead of Agathon Rwasa, his main rival, who had 18.99%.

The election was boycotted by major opposition parties in the country.

Thousands of voters abstained from the poll out of either anger towards the electoral process or allegiance to the opposition forces.

The election follows months of violence, which started when the president made his third term bid known back in April.

Nkurunziza had accepted the nomination of the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) party to stand for re-election but the opposition described his acceptance as a violation of the country’s constitution and the Arusha Accords peace deal.

More than 144,000 people have fled the country since April and about 100 people have been killed in series of protests staged.

After failing in its bid to prevent the election from holding, the international community threatened not to accept its outcome.

The African Union (AU), which opposed the election and refused to send a delegation to monitor it, is also likely not going to acknowledge the outcome of the poll.