By Moses Havyarimania
In Summary
CNDD-FDD and its ally UPRONA said Tuesday they had
boycotted the restart of UN-led talks aimed at brokering peace between
rival parties following weeks of violence and ahead of elections on
Monday.
Kigali, Tuesday. The UN-led Burundi peace talks
were thrown into further disarray Tuesday when the ruling CNDD-FDD party
and the opposition UPRONA announced their withdrawal.
CNDD-FDD and its ally UPRONA said Tuesday they had
boycotted the restart of UN-led talks aimed at brokering peace between
rival parties following weeks of violence and ahead of elections on
Monday.
Earlier this month, the UN special envoy to the
Great Lakes region, Mr Said Djinnit, quit as the facilitator after
facing accusations of bias by the opposition and civil society
organisations.
“We don’t have time to negotiate. The country has a
constitution and an electoral code and at this moment, we are not
honouring any invitation (to talks) until the end of the electoral
period,” said the UPRONA Secretary-General, Mr Gaston Sindimwo.
Mr Sindimwo said his party was busy with the
campaigns and “the constitutional court had already ruled that Pierre
Nkurunziza was legible to run for another term. So, the only way to
remove him and his party from power is through elections”.
Burundi has been in crisis since late April over
President Nkurunziza’s controversial bid to stand for a third
consecutive five-year term.
This move is branded by opponents as unconstitutional and a violation of a 2006 peace deal that ended 13 years of civil war.
Some opposition politicians as well as civil
society and religious leaders attended the talks, but neither CNDD-FDD
or the presidency sent representatives. (NMG)
“The CNDD-FDD party informs the national and
international community that its priority is the continuation of its
election campaign,” party president Pascal Nyabenda said.
“The CNDD party therefore wishes to communicate
that it will not participate in dialogue during this period,” he added,
calling it a diversion “aimed to disrupt the elections”.
Parliamentary elections are planned for June 29, ahead of the presidential vote on July 15.
The meeting
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