Pierre Claver Ndayicariye, Chairman of the National Independent Electoral Commission says the vote for the constitutional amendment has won the referendum with 73. 26 % against 19. 34% for the vote against the constitutional. He says out of 4,755, 216 registered voters throughout the country, 4,576 296 have voted in the referendum i.e. 96.24% of the participation rate.
Pierre Claver Ndayicariye presenting the provisional results of the 17 May referendum before ministers, ambassadors, SCOs and political leaders
Pierre Claver Ndayicariye says the provisional results from the Diaspora are not yet available due to the lack of some elements. “Provisional results from Canada, Ethiopia and United Kingdom are not yet available. We are still waiting for the provisional results at any moment,” he says adding that the Diaspora results would not influence the available provisional results from the countryside. “The Diaspora only represents 0.27%,” he says.
Evariste Ngayimpenda, Deputy Chairman of the Coalition of Independents “Amizero y’Abarundi” has said the provisional results from the referendum do not match with the reality. “Some of our political supervisors have been persecuted and intimidated while others have been arrested. But the National Electoral Commission didn’t consider these irregularities. Then, we will make appeal to the constitutional court,” says Ngayimpenda.
Abel Gashatsi, Chairman of Uprona party is satisfied with the provisional results. “There were some irregularities which would not influence the results of the referendum,” he says.
The United States notes that the May 17 referendum process in Burundi was marred by a lack of transparency, the suspension of media outlets, and attempts to pressure voters.
In the statement issued on 21 May, the USA Department has said Burundi government allowed vigorous campaigning by the opposition during the designated two-week campaign period, but numerous cases of harassment and repression of referendum opponents in the months preceding the vote contributed to a climate of fear and intimidation. “The absence of independent observers also undermines confidence in the reported results,” says Heather Nauert, US Department Spokesperson.
She also says the USA is concerned that the revised constitution will be interpreted as resetting presidential term limits. “We recall the ruling party’s commitment under the Pretoria Protocol to respect the principles of the Arusha Agreement, including the respect for term limits”, she says. The USA Department Spokesperson also says other amendments run counter to the power-sharing principles of the Arusha Agreement.
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