Nkurunziza wins third term as Burundi president

July 24, 2015 1:53 PM

Pierre Claver Ndayicariye, head of the electoral commission, told reporters Nkurunziza won 69.41 percent of the votes cast.

Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza speaks to the media after he registered to run for a third five-year term in office, in the capital Bujumbura, May 8, 2015.

Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza has won a third five-year term as the leader of the small east African nation, the country's electoral commission said on Friday, July 24 after a vote marred by violence and a boycott by the opposition.

Pierre Claver Ndayicariye, head of the electoral commission, told reporters Nkurunziza won 69.41 percent of the votes cast. Nkrunziza's nearest rival, Agathon Rwasa, took 18.99 percent.

The vote took place on Tuesday, July 21, despite calls by African leaders and Western powers for it to be delayed due to rising insecurity and the boycott by opposition candidates whose names remained on the ballot paper.

His victory follows series of violence that has left many killed as Burundi people protested Nkurunziza's third term bid, describing it as illegal.

The law of the land stipulates that a president is only allowed to run two terms, but the incumbent president argued that his second term run was not through an election, therefore qualifying him for a third term.