Burundi govt says open to delaying elections as more protests loom

Bujumbura (Burundi) (AFP) - The Burundian government said it was open to a request by East African leaders Sunday to delay upcoming elections in the face of violent protests sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term.

But the regional leaders, after holding emergency talks on the Burundian crisis in Tanzania, stopped short of asking Nkurunziza to abandon his re-election bid, prompting the opposition to urge supporters to return to the streets in even greater numbers.

"We are disappointed because the summit said nothing on the question that we are concerned about. We did not descend on the streets to get the elections delayed by a month and a half," said one of the protest leaders, Pacifique Nininahazwe.

"We are going to stage even bigger demonstrations than we have done so far in order to get Nkurunziza to leave office," he vowed.

Burundi's parliamentary elections are currently scheduled to take place on June 5 while the presidential election is slated for June 26.

East African leaders on Sunday added to international pressure on Burundi to delay the ballot after weeks of civil unrest that has left at least 30 people dead and seen tens of thousands flee the central African nation. The turmoil even led to a failed coup attempt earlier this month.

"The summit, concerned at the impasse in Burundi, strongly calls for a long postponement of the elections not less than a month and a half," the East African Community (EAC) said in a statement read out by its secretary general Richard Sezibera.

The statement also called "on all parties to stop violence" and for "the creation of conditions for the return of refugees" who have fled the turmoil.

In response, government spokesman Philippe Nzobonariba told AFP: "The Burundian government welcomes the proposal of the heads of state" to delay the elections.

He added that the leaders meeting in Dar Es Salaam "did not discuss" the controversy over Nkurunziza's third bid because it was a sovereign issue and the government considered the matter "closed".

The crisis in Burundi erupted in late April after the ruling party designated Nkurunziza, in power for 10 years, as its candidate for upcoming elections.

The opposition and rights groups say this violates the constitution as well as a 2006 peace deal that ended a 13-year civil war.

The war left hundreds of thousands dead and there are fears the current crisis could push the impoverished, landlocked country back into conflict.

- 'Masquerade' -

With talks between Nkurunziza and the opposition deadlocked, Sunday's EAC summit was seen as an important opportunity to resolve the crisis.

The talks were attended by leaders from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda as well as South African President Jacob Zuma. But Rwandan President Paul Kagame, a key regional player and Burundi's neighbour, sent a minister to represent him.

Nkurunziza himself was also absent from the talks.

It was during a regional summit on May 13 in Tanzania's economic capital, attended by Nkurunziza, that a top general launched an unsuccessful bid to oust him -- and the president is seen as being wary of again leaving the country.

Nkurunziza, a former rebel leader from the Hutu majority and a born-again Christian, insists he has every right to stand again, arguing that for his first term in office he was appointed by parliament and not after a general election.

Asked to rule on Nkurunziza's candidacy, Burundi's constitutional court found in favour of the president but not before one of the judges fled the country, claiming that its members were subject to death threats.

Key international donors have withdrawn their support for the polls, as has the influential Catholic Church in Burundi, and on Saturday it emerged that a senior member of the election commission had also fled the country -- further plunging preparations for the polls into disarray.

The country's main opposition leader, Agathon Rwasa, has said the elections would be a "masquerade" if they went ahead as scheduled.

Demonstrators on the streets of Bujumbura said they were disappointed by the outcome of the summit.

"It doesn't change anything. One month is not enough. there are lots of problems -- independent media has not reopened, the rights of protestors are violated. All of this needs to be resolved before elections can be held," said Antoine, an anti-Nkurunziza activist who asked that his full name not be published.