A United Nations observer mission said Monday that last week’s presidential elections in Burundi were relatively peaceful but had not been “an inclusive free and credible” vote. Separately, the 15 UN Security Council members plan to hold consultations on the crisis Tuesday. In a preliminary report, UN observers said Thursday’s vote, which saw President Pierre Nkurunziza re-elected, was marred by violence and obstacles to freedom of expression and the press.
“While election day was relatively peaceful and conducted adequately, the overall environment was not conducive for an inclusive free and credible electoral process,” the report said.
It said the elections were held “in an environment of profound mistrust between opposing political camps.”
“Freedom of expression, assembly and association, essential conditions for the effective exercise of the right to vote, remained severely impaired,” the report said.
Full Article: Burundi presidential vote not credible: UN observers – Yahoo News.