Burundi Referendum

Burundians have approved a new constitution which will allow the country’s president Pierre Nkurunziza to stay in power until 2034. Late yesterday, Burundi’s electoral commission confirmed that seventy three percent of voters were in favour of the amendments which will extend Nkuruziza’s presidential term from five to seven years. Before the outcomes of the referendum are yet to be announced, the opposition was challenging the process. Agathon Rwasa, leader of the main opposition party, the National Liberation Forces, says the process was neither free nor fair. We are now joined by: • Prof. Babatunde Fagbayibo, associate professor in the department of Public, Constitutional and International Law at UNISA • Rachel Nicholson, researcher for Rwanda/Burundi at Amnesty International