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Burundi voting ends in calm despite fraud allegation
Voting in Burundi’s presidential election passed calmly on Wednesday despite simmering political violence, the coronavirus pandemic and the opposition accusing the authorities of fraud.
In what could be the first competitive presidential election in Burundi since a civil war erupted in 1993, the ruling CNDD-FDD party’s candidate, retired general Evariste Ndayishimiye, is running against opposition leader Agathon Rwasa and five others.
President Pierre Nkurunziza, whose government has repeatedly been accused of rights abuses, will step down after 15 years.
Rwasa said electoral observers from his party were chased away from the polling stations.
“There is a massive electoral fraud. Our representatives, mandated to follow the electoral process to the end, have been chased. So how can you agree on results counted out of your sights?” he told Reuters.
The government did not respond to requests for comment about the fraud accusation.
Last week it expelled the head of the mission in Burundi of the World Health Organisation, who had criticised all parties for holding rallies despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Burundi has reported 42 coronavirus cases and one death. But only 633 tests have been carried out, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The authorities said it was safe to vote despite the disease and called on Burundians to turn out.
“We call on Burundians to vote in massive numbers and vote peacefully. We need good elections,” Dr Pierre Claver Kazihise, chairman of the election commission, said in comments aired by state broadcaster RTNB.
Queues to vote were long in the morning in the main commercial city Bujumbura’s Musaga neighbourhood, where the opposition is popular.
“The voting is really taking place smoothly and I voted for change but I am pessimistic about the counting of votes,” said one resident who did not wish to be identified.
Several voters were worried that Twitter and WhatsApp – messaging services that can spread information quickly – seemed to be shut down.
The election is meant to usher in the first democratic transition in 58 years of independence, after widespread international criticism of the last election in 2015, when Nkurunziza won a third term and the opposition boycotted.
That election sparked violent protests that drove hundreds of thousands of Burundians into exile. The United Nations documented hundreds of killings and the torture and gang-rape of opposition activists. Donors withdrew funding. -Reuters
The Diaspora Affairs Office at the Office of the President has hosted a delegation of African diaspora women who are in Ghana ahead of a planned Presidential Conferment of Citizenship ceremony.
The Director of Diaspora Affairs, Kofi Okyere Darko, explained in a Facebook post that the visit was a gesture of appreciation by the delegation to the Government of Ghana for its continued efforts to reconnect Africans in the diaspora with their ancestral homeland.
He indicated that the ceremony, scheduled for next Monday, will officially grant Ghanaian citizenship to members of the delegation as part of the country’s broader engagement with the African diaspora.
The delegation was led by Erica Bennett, Founder of the Diaspora Africa Forum.
According to Mr Okyere Darko, her years of advocacy have played an important role in strengthening ties between Africa and people of African descent living abroad.
He noted that the group’s journey towards citizenship represents not only a legal process but also a cultural and spiritual return to their roots.
Also present at the meeting was Natalie Jackson, an attorney who is also expected to receive Ghanaian citizenship during the ceremony. She works closely with renowned civil rights lawyer Ben Crump.
Mr Okyere Darko emphasised that Ghana remains committed to strengthening relationships with the African diaspora and promoting unity, identity, and shared heritage among people of African descent worldwide.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Ghana has signed a debt restructuring agreement with the Kingdom of Belgium as part of efforts to restore the country’s economic stability after the financial crisis that hit the nation in 2022 and 2023.
The Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, today disclosed that he signed the agreement on behalf of the Government of Ghana.
He explained that Ghana experienced a very difficult period during the crisis, which forced the government at the time to declare a debt default.
However, he indicated that the country is now recovering and witnessing a significant economic turnaround.
According to him, stronger systems are also being put in place to ensure that Ghana does not return to such a situation again.
Dr Forson noted that the agreement with Belgium is the eighth deal Ghana has concluded with countries under the Official Creditor Committee as part of its external debt restructuring programme.
He expressed appreciation to the Government of Belgium for its support and partnership with Ghana during the process.
The Finance Minister thanked Carole van Eyll, Ambassador of Belgium to Ghana, for her role in strengthening relations between the two countries.
The agreement forms part of Ghana’s broader effort to restructure its external debts and stabilise the economy following the crisis.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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