Burundi

There has been no indication so far that Burundi will cancel or delay election campaigns or the general election scheduled for later this month. … Politicians in Burundi have backed the government's decision to move on with the campaigns and general elections to avoid a political crisis.

As May elections approach, Burundi’s ruling party says it has stopped demanding payments from citizens to finance the polls. But the confiscatory practice persists. Bujumbura should move decisively to halt it as a prelude to wider-ranging improvement of governance in the country.

A legal complaint against Burundi was filed with a UN rights body on Thursday, over punitive actions taken against lawyers and activists who cooperated with a UN review of the country's rights record.

Two months ahead of Burundi’s planned local and presidential elections, senior UN-appointed independent rights investigators have urged the Government to reopen the “democratic, civil and political space” there.

Burundi’s government said on Tuesday that it killed at least 22 “wrongdoers” in the outskirts of the capital, Bujumbura, in violence that appeared to be linked to upcoming presidential elections.

Rwasa will run in the upcoming polls against army General Evariste Ndayishimiye, an ally of Nkurunziza who was chosen last month by the ruling CNDD-FDD party to be its candidate.

Ruling party CNDD-FDD has announced that Secretary-General Evariste Ndayishimiye will be its candidate for the presidential election slated for May. … News of his choice has galvanized members of the ruling party who say that he is the right candidate to take the helm after President Pierre Nkurunziza leaves office. But his pick has disappointed government opponents who say that if elected, Ndayishimiye would be a continuation of what they call “failed policies” by Nkurunziza.

The parliament of Burundi has voted to pay one billion francs ($530,000; £400,00) to President Pierre Nkurunziza as he prepares to leave office. … The MPs also proposed Mr Nkurunziza be elevated to the title of “Supreme leader” and “Champion of patriotism”.

The European parliament has passed a resolution condemning Burundi for restricting freedom of expression and violating human rights ahead of elections due in May this year.

More than 4,000 mass graves have been found in Burundi following an investigation by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into conflicts since independence in 1962. The commission, set up in 2018 to shed light on ethnic tensions, says it has identified 142,505 victims. … Commission chairperson Pierre-Claver Ndayicariye presented the report to parliament of the landlocked African country.