Campaigning officially begins in Burundi for legislative, local elections

​​​​​​​By Mevlut Ozkan

ISTANBUL (AA) - The campaign for Burundi’s legislative and district elections officially began Tuesday.

The campaign will run until June 2, three days before the vote, which is set for June 5.

A symbolic launch ceremony was held Friday in Gitega, the political capital of the East African nation, with the participation of President Evariste Ndayishimiye.

The National Assembly has 123 seats, with 100 directly elected members and additional co-opted representatives.

Ndayishimiye’s National Council for the Defense of Democracy–Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD–FDD) party secured a supermajority in the last election in 2020.

The party, founded in 1998 during Burundi’s civil war, has remained in power since 2005.

Voters will also return to the polls on July 23 to elect members of the Senate in the country of 13.5 million people.

It is a busy election year across Africa, with at least nine presidential and seven legislative elections set to take place on the continent.