Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza has launched a campaign to
promote a referendum to change the constitution that could see him rule
until 2034.
"It's the day you've been waiting for,"
President Nkurunziza told a crowd of thousands of farmers in the central
Gitega district on Tuesday, threatening those who sought to undermine
the referendum vote slated for early 2018.
The
government adopted a plan in October to revise the constitution that, if
passed by the referendum, would allow President Nkurunziza to serve
another two seven-year terms from 2020.
"We take this
opportunity to warn those who want to sabotage this project, whether by
speech or actions," Nkurunziza Nkurunziza said.
"It will be a red line."
Fundraising drive for elections
The start of the campaign comes a day after the government
launched a fundraising drive for elections in 2020, presented as
"voluntary" but condemned by rights groups as "organised robbery".
Burundi plunged into crisis in 2015 when President Nkrunziza ran for a controversial third term that he went on to win.
Between 500 and 2,000 people are estimated to have died in the ensuing turmoil, according to varying tolls.
Opposition
activists, forced into exile by the troubles, have already denounced a
project they say will be the "funeral" of the country's 2000 peace
agreement that ended a 13-year civil war in which more than 300,000
people were killed.
ALSO READ: The only solution to Burundi: No fourth term for Nkurunziza
No comments :
Post a Comment