BURUNDI: Change in name only?
Burundi changed presidents in dramatic circumstances in 2020, although the prospects of a break with the past are uncertain. Authoritarian President Pierre Nkurunziza, who presided over appalling human rights abuses designed to crush all opposition, somewhat surprisingly decided not to stand again after 15 years in power, even though the constitution he had changed in 2015 enabled him to do so. The ruling party’s new candidate, Évariste Ndayishimiye, duly won the May election, held in the midst of the pandemic and riddled with irregularities. But then in June, before the official end of his term, President Nkurunziza suddenly died, reportedly of a heart attack.
Some pretend to believe that the election of new leaders is synonymous with democracy. The outcome of the election helped Burundi change the faces of top leaders and show that the dictator who ruled us for 15 years is no longer leading the country. However, the human rights violations that took place during the electoral campaign show that democracy in Burundi still has a long way to go.
Anonymous Burundian civil society activist
