Ahead of the general elections in Burundi on May 20, 2020, poll campaigns for both presidential and legislative seats have kicked off in the East African nation.
Campaigns started last month with seven candidates running for president including the ruling CNDD-FDD party’s General Evariste Ndayishimiye who is fully endorsed by Outgoing President Pierre Nkurunziza. Similarly, the main opposition and candidate of the National Council for Liberty (CNL) party, Agathon Rwasa started his campaigns in his native home-town of Ngozi.
According to a presidential decree, the campaign will last until May 17. Beginning at 06H00 (04H00 GMT) and ending at 18H00 each day, “all propaganda” outside the set period is prohibited. Similarly, the Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) disclosed that the health ministry will provide political parties and CENI officials with equipment to measure the body temperatures of supporters during the campaigns and elections at all times.
Once the campaign kicked off, the opposition party accused Burundi’s leaders of deliberately minimizing the COVID-19 pandemic, so as to avoid citizens questioning ‘the sense in holding the elections.’ Speaking in reference to the pandemic early in April 2020, Burundi’s first vice-president, Gaston Sindimwo said that “elections will go ahead because (Burundians) are a people blessed by God.”
Subsequently, with massive political rallies already in motion, fears of a surge in new COVID-19 infections as a result of close contact at the campaign sites have been rampant. TheEastAfrican reports that supporters at the campaigning ground entrance for the ruling party candidate in Bugendana did not adhere to social distancing on the field.
Speaking to AFP on the condition of anonymity, a high-ranking politician of the ruling CNDD-FDD party said that the electoral commission had issued buckets of soap and water for use during campaign activities but acknowledged this would likely be ineffective. “We realize that this will be useless. Everybody is obsessed with the electoral stakes, We’ll think about the pandemic later,” the politician said.
With 15 confirmed coronavirus cases including one death as of May 4, 2020, the gathering of supporters for campaign rallies in Burundi could escalate the number of infections. Earlier on, the World Health Organization (WHO) advised countries against mass gatherings; and this includes political rallies. Although the land-locked country has implemented several measures to curb the spread of coronavirus, life in the East African country is largely carrying on as normal.
Coupled with the unapproved gatherings, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports that the Burundian government is using fear and repression against the opposition and their supporters. The rights group said they have documented killings, disappearances, arbitrary arrests, threats, and harassment against real or perceived political opponents in Burundi over the last six months.
Additionally, the main opposition leader Rwasa has raised concerns over increased intimidation and arrests of his supporters prior to the elections. With several accusations levied against the Burundian government, the nation’s authorities are therefore saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that despite an upcoming general election, the lives and safety of its citizens must remain top priority during these times.
