BURUNDI: PARLIAMENTARY AND LOCAL ELECTIONS HOLD DESPITE TENSIONS

Parliamentary and local elections opened Monday morning despite opposition's boycott and weeks of protests over President Pierre Nkurunziza's third term bid.
The African Union is no longer sending any observers to the general election because it believes conditions for free and fair elections have not been met.
Both the African Union (AU) and United Nations (UN) had called for postponement of the elections but Burundi government rejected the demands saying conditions were stable enough for an election while a delay could create a dangerous political vacuum.
Leading opposition parties and civil society are boycotting the poll. Many people in the capital, Bujumbura said the unrest had prevented them from registering to vote and that the outcome of the process is already known.