With the authorities barring international observers at the last minute by invoking Covid-19 and a run-up to the polls marred by intensified violence and opposition repression, a serious question mark hangs over the credibility of Burundi's Wednesday elections.
The elections saw Évariste Ndayishimiye standing for the ruling Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie - Forces pour la défense de la démocratie (CNDD-FDD) and Agathon Rwasa for the main opposition party Congrès national pour la liberté (CNL).
The East African Community was set to deploy a team to Burundi to monitor the presidential, legislative and municipal elections that would in particular determine a successor to the 15-year incumbent, Pierre Nkurunziza, and replace the National Assembly.
Some polling stations opened late in various localities, and authorities expelled or arrested several accredited opposition election observers.
Rwasa has declared he will not allow the ruling party to "steal his election" and Nkurunziza that he will not tolerate a call for violence.
