President Pierre Nkurunziza sworn in as president for third five-year term in power Thursday following weeks of protests and a failed coup.
Nkurunziza won the contested election by a 69.41 percent and his swearing in comes in days before his official date of the end of his two term which was supposed to end this August 26.
Nkurunziza took the “oath for a new term of five years”, the presidency said in a statement said this Thursday.
Burundi’s constitution only allows a president to be elected twice – for a total of 10 years in power – but before these polls Nkurunziza argued he had only been directly elected by the people.
Despite calls from the international community to end violence in Burundi, the death toll continues to rise day after day as more top officials and local people are gunned down or killed in explosions by unknown assailants.
In the meantime, the Independent National Commission for Human Rights (CNIDH) in Burundi is calling upon the government and all stakeholders to resume talks in a bid to end the turmoil that has destabilized the country for the last four month.