{"id":4946,"date":"2025-06-03T10:12:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T10:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kingumurundifreedom.org\/?p=4946"},"modified":"2025-12-05T09:47:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T09:47:45","slug":"declarations-relatives-aux-elections-de-2025-au-burundi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kingumurundifreedom.org\/en\/declarations-relatives-aux-elections-de-2025-au-burundi\/","title":{"rendered":"Statements Regarding the 2025 Elections in Burundi"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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A. Introduction<\/strong>
King Umurundi Freedom closely monitored the electoral campaign that took place from May 13 to June 2, 2025. The campaign for the legislative and local (collinaire) elections was officially launched on May 9, 2025, in Gitega, during a ceremony presided over by the Head of State, \u00c9variste Ndayishimiye. However, some political parties were unable to participate, citing obstacles such as the lack of fuel. This period was marked by numerous irregularities, including strong pressure exerted by the ruling party, the CNDD-FDD, which mobilized its youth wing, the Imbonerakure, to force citizens to attend its campaign rallies. School-age children were pulled out of class to take part in political demonstrations, in violation of the law. These pressures caused disruptions to economic activities, as well as violence and intimidation targeting opposition members and politically non-aligned citizens. In several regions, voters had their voter cards seized by CNDD-FDD members\u2014or never received them\u2014undermining the transparency of the electoral process.<\/p>

B. Principal Irregularities Observed<\/strong><\/p>

1. Forced Participation in Ruling Party Rallies<\/strong>
In several provinces\u2014Cankuzo, Rumonge, Makamba, and Bujumbura\u2014citizens were threatened and forced to attend CNDD-FDD rallies. In Cankuzo, central market vendors were forced to close their shops for two days. In Kamenge (Bujumbura), shop owners were compelled to close on May 31, 2025.<\/p>

2. Intimidation and Violence Against Opposition Members<\/strong>
Several serious incidents were documented. In Makamba, Jonas Niyomwungere, an activist of the Burundi Bwa Bose (BBB) coalition, was attacked in Kabo by Imbonerakure and injured with machetes. In Ngozi, on May 15, 2025, provincial representative Dismas Minani was assaulted and robbed of his motorcycle and one million FBu. In Bubanza, flags of the Sahwanya FRODEBU party were torn down on May 27, 2025. In Gitega, several motorcyclists who attended opposition rallies were arrested and had their motorcycles confiscated.<\/p>

Restrictions and Attacks on the CDP (Council of Patriots)<\/strong>
CDP members faced violence and obstruction. In Musongati (Rutana), on May 15, 2025, MP Gaston Sindimwo\u2019s political meeting was blocked. In Marangara (Ngozi), on May 18, 2025, CDP vice-president Yvonne Kanziza was prevented from holding a meeting. In Rutana, CDP militant Egide Hakizimana was arrested on May 19, 2025. In Kanyosha (Bujumbura), on May 20, 2025, CDP activist Jean Bukuru was beaten by Imbonerakure.<\/p>

Obstacles to the Candidacy of MP Agathon RWASA<\/strong>
MP Agathon RWASA faced systematic obstruction of his campaign. His supporters experienced threats, arrests, and confiscation of voter cards across multiple provinces.<\/p>

3. Systematic Confiscation of Voter Cards<\/strong>
In several provinces, citizens perceived as opposition supporters had their election cards confiscated. In Mutaho, Imbonerakure members\u2014including Jean de Dieu, Michel Hakizimana, F\u00e9lix Mucowintore, Genevi\u00e8ve Ntakonkibagira, and Evelyne Ndayishimiye\u2014participated in the seizures. In Kayanza, on the night of May 22, 2025, activists were attacked in Kiryama (Butangazwa commune). In Ngozi, in the commune of Kiremba, confiscations were coordinated by Pascal Habiyakare, together with L\u00e9once Ngendakumana alias \u201cMazembe\u201d and \u00c9ric Uwikunda alias \u201cSidorro.\u201d In Bururi, in Rutovu, Matana, and Vyanda, voter cards were seized on the orders of Olam Ntakirutimana, local Imbonerakure leader. In Karusi, in Gihogazi, cards were collected under the pretext of verification\u2014without being returned.<\/p>

4. Political Propaganda in Schools<\/strong>
In several provinces (Mwaro, Muyinga, Rutana, Makamba, Bubanza, Cibitoke, Kayanza), teachers engaged in political propaganda in favor of the CNDD-FDD. For example, on May 28, 2025, in Nyabihanga (Mwaro), Communal Education Director L\u00e9onard Maniratunga and CNDD-FDD official Vital Mpangaje conducted political activities inside schools.<\/p>

5. Absence of Independent Observers<\/strong>
The campaign took place without independent observers. Many human rights defenders and political observers had been forced into exile or silenced.<\/p>

C. Conclusion<\/strong>
In light of the numerous irregularities observed during the electoral campaign and the unhealthy political climate, King Umurundi Freedom expresses deep concern regarding the upcoming elections. It regrets that no guarantees of transparency or peace have been ensured. It warns of the risk of an election dominated by a single ruling party. It calls on the government to engage in an inclusive dialogue with all stakeholders and urges the international community to closely monitor the human rights situation in Burundi.<\/p>

For King Umurundi Freedom (KUF-DSF)<\/strong>
June 3, 2026
Dernel Mpundu
Secretary General and Spokesperson<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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SHARE THIS TO RAISE AWARENESS<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A. IntroductionKing Umurundi Freedom closely monitored the electoral campaign that took place from May 13 to June 2, 2025. The campaign for the legislative and local (collinaire) elections was officially launched on May 9, 2025, in Gitega, during a ceremony presided over by the Head of State, \u00c9variste Ndayishimiye. However, some political parties were unable […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5887,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,18,8,10,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-annual-reports","category-monthly-reports","category-news","category-reports","category-weekly-reports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kingumurundifreedom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kingumurundifreedom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kingumurundifreedom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingumurundifreedom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingumurundifreedom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4946"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/kingumurundifreedom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4946\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5892,"href":"https:\/\/kingumurundifreedom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4946\/revisions\/5892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingumurundifreedom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kingumurundifreedom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingumurundifreedom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingumurundifreedom.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}