Burundi welcome new President after 15 years of Nkurunziza: Evariste Ndayishimiye was a rebel leader alongside Pierre Nkurunziza. Credit/BBC

Burundi welcome new President after 15 years of Nkurunziza: Evariste Ndayishimiye was a rebel leader alongside Pierre Nkurunziza. Credit/BBC

 

Burundi welcome new President after 15 years of Nkurunziza

 

Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi ruling party has been declared winner of last week’s presidential election.

The authorities in Burundi say the ruling party’s candidate has been elected as the new president.

The electoral commission said Ndayishimiye won almost 70% of the vote in last week’s poll.

The retired general will take over from President Pierre Nkurunziza, who has led Burundi since 2005.

The former leader is widely expected to maintain a lot of influence.

The main opposition party has expressed doubt about the official results, which suggest its candidate, Agathon Rwasa, only gained a quarter of the votes – mostly in its traditional stronghold in the west.

 

Editorial Chief, Nigerian Bureau

Kings UBA is a Nigerian journalist and writer. I have reported for major local and international news organisations. I write satire. In 2017, I started contributing stories primarily to Discover Africa News Network. I can be reached on editorkingsuba@gmail.com. I currently manage Discover Africa News social media handles