Seven candidates are seeking to replace President Pierre Nkurunzinza
BUJUMBURA, May 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Polling stations in Burundi opened at 06:00 local time (04:00GMT) Wednesday with around five million voters expected to participate in the elections.
Voters will be electing their president, members of parliament and communal council members.
Polling stations will close at 16:00 local time.
Seven candidates are seeking to replace President Pierre Nkurunzinza, with the main contenders being Agathon Rwasa of the opposition CNL party and Evariste Ndayishimiye from the ruling CNDD-FDD party.
Voters in the diaspora will not cast their ballot because of coronavirus.
Preliminary results are expected to be out on May 25.
The electoral commission announced that there will be 53 international observers who include personnel for the embassies of Tanzania, Egypt, China, Kenya, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Russia and Africa Union mission in Burundi.
The commission has banned the use of mobile phones and cameras by observers and poll agents inside polling stations.
Social media platforms have become inaccessible in Burundi as voting kicked off across the east African country on Wednesday.
The access to Twitter, Whatsapp and Facebook has been blocked.
Only those using Virtual Private Network (VPN), which mask a user’s identity, could access the social media sites.
Human rights organisations had urged the government not to block the internet on voting day because it would hinder access to crucial election information.
Critics say the outage will also affect the opposition who will be unable to flag electoral malpractices. — NNN-AGENCIES
