Burundians vote Thursday in a referendum that could not only keep Pierre Nkurunziza in power until 2034 but also threatens to prolong a political crisis that has seen more than 1,000 people killed and hundreds of thousands more fleeing into neighbouring countries.
Many do not see a positive outcome no matter the results of the vote, which the Nkurunziza government forced through despite widespread opposition from within and outside Burundi. The country descended into crisis in 2015 when Nkurunziza pursued a disputed third term.
He is now forcefully urging Burundi’s 5 million voters to approve a change to the constitution that would extend the length of the president’s term from five years to seven and would allow him to stand for two more terms after his current one ends in 2020.
“Whoever opposes this election will meet God’s power,” the president warned earlier this month while campaigning.
Tensions are even higher after unidentified attackers carried out a massacre Friday in the rural northwest near Congo, killing 26 people, many of them children. The government blamed a “terrorist group.”
While it is not clear whether the attack was linked to Thursday’s referendum, it was “a very dangerous development,” United Nations human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein said Tuesday.
Zeid, who has called Burundi one of “the most prolific slaughterhouses of humans in recent times,” warned that “everyone will suffer” if Burundi explodes into violence during or after the vote.
Nkurunziza is one of a growing number of African leaders who are changing their countries’ constitutions or using other means to prolong their stay in power.
Some in Burundi’s opposition, which has faced hate speech from officials including threats of drowning and castration, say they have little choice but to fight back. Boycotting the vote is risky following a presidential decree that criminalized calls to abstain from casting a ballot.
“The only available option now is to use guns and we are determined to use all means to realize our cause,” said Hussein Radjabu, who was a Nkurunziza ally before being jailed on treason-related charges. He later escaped from prison and fled the country.
In the streets of the capital, Bujumbura, where the police have increased their presence this week, people say they are worried about what comes next.
One man told the AP he will vote for changing the constitution even though he opposes it because he fears there will be secret cameras spying on people in the voting booth.
“So I will go to vote for ‘yes’ in order to save my job,” the public transport operator said, speaking on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.
