Burundi’s electoral commission has announced that President Pierre Nkurunziza won a new term in office after an election marred by violence and a boycott by the opposition. Pierre Claver Ndayicariye, head of the electoral commission, told reporters on Friday that Nkurunziza had garnered 69.41 percent of the votes cast in the polls that took place on Tuesday.
Nkrunziza’s nearest rival, Agathon Rwasa, took 18.99 percent. Nkurunziza’s decision in April to seek a third term had plunged the small east African nation into its biggest crisis since an ethnically charged civil war ended in 2005. The opposition says Nkurunziza’s bid violated the constitution. The vote took place on Tuesday, despite calls by African leaders and Western powers for it to be delayed due to the tensions in the country.