Catholic leaders in Burundi criticized the country's recent elections for having serious problems. Archbishop Bonaventure Nahimana leads the bishops conference and spoke about voting issues. Church observers watched the June 5 parliamentary and municipal elections across many areas. The religious leaders said voting happened peacefully but saw many rule violations. Officials from polling stations broke election laws during the voting process.
Ballot boxes already contained votes when observers arrived at some locations. Election workers opened polling stations before the legal start time without proper checks. Some voters used multiple voting cards or had others vote for them illegally. Officials blocked authorized observers from watching the vote counting process. Church teams documented these problems at polling stations throughout the country.
The ruling CNDD-FDD party claims it won 96.51 percent of all votes cast. Bishops question whether these massive victories reflect what really happened during voting. The party will control parliament for five more years if courts approve the results. Church leaders say election organizers need major improvements for future votes. Catholic observers believe the reported irregularities may have changed the final outcomes.
Ballot boxes already contained votes when observers arrived at some locations. Election workers opened polling stations before the legal start time without proper checks. Some voters used multiple voting cards or had others vote for them illegally. Officials blocked authorized observers from watching the vote counting process. Church teams documented these problems at polling stations throughout the country.
The ruling CNDD-FDD party claims it won 96.51 percent of all votes cast. Bishops question whether these massive victories reflect what really happened during voting. The party will control parliament for five more years if courts approve the results. Church leaders say election organizers need major improvements for future votes. Catholic observers believe the reported irregularities may have changed the final outcomes.
