Térence Manirambona, Spokesperson for the National Congress for Liberty-CNL says at least 423 party members including party observers are detained in different localities of the country. “Over 600 party members were arrested in the last days of the electoral campaign and on the Election Day. Some were freed but 423 members are still detained,” he says adding that they continue to be arrested even after the release of the provisional results of the general elections.
CNL party pleads for the release of its members
Térence Manirambona says they are arrested for political motives. “They are accused of unfounded motives. They don’t have the right to a fair trial. How a person should be accused of boycotting the election or wearing a piece of cloth marked number 23? ” he wonders. Térence Manirambona, however, says CNL party will never use force to claim its rights. “We follow the existing legal procedures and we expect to lodge our complaints to the Constitutional Court,” he says.
CNL Spokesperson calls on the competent authorities to release their members. “It would be better if all people felt free to perform their daily activities. Unfortunately, our party members continue to be arrested, persecuted and intimidated,” he says.
Some CNL party members are officially accused of attempting to disrupt security during the electoral period. On May 25, Six CNL party members in Ngozi province have been sentenced to one year imprisonment due to “forged documents”. .
On May 20, Pierre Nkurikiye, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Security said CNL party members arrested on the Election Day were generally accused of trying to rig the elections by using forged accreditations for political proxies and influencing voters.
https://iwacu.global.ssl.fastly.net/englishnews/elections-marred-by-irregularities/
IWACU Open Data
