Legislative and local elections in Burundi on June 5, 2025, took place in a context of severely restricted free speech and political space, Human Rights Watch said today.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (Commission électorale nationale indépendante, CENI) announced on June 11 during a press conference that the ruling party had won 96.5 percent of votes and all elected national assembly seats. The ruling party also won almost every seat in the commune-level election. Ruling party officials and youths intimidated, harassed, and threatened the population and censored media coverage to secure a landslide victory.
“Burundians voted in an atmosphere devoid of genuine political competition as the ruling party further consolidated power,” said Clémentine de Montjoye, senior Great Lakes researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Against a backdrop of growing discontent over a deepening economic crisis and systemic human rights failings, the ruling party took no chances in the elections.”
The National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie-Forces pour la défense de la démocratie, CNDD–FDD), in power since 2005, has sought to dismantle all meaningful opposition, including from its main rival, the National Congress for Freedom (Congrès national pour la liberté, CNL). Several opposition parties, including the CNL, the Patriots’ Council (Conseil des Patriotes, CDP), and the Union for National Progress (Union pour le progrès national, UPRONA) denounced irregularities in the vote. Senatorial and further local elections are scheduled for July 23 and August 25, respectively, and the next presidential polls will be in 2027.
In the days following the vote, Human Rights Watch spoke with local activists, journalists, private citizens, and a member of the ruling party’s youth league – the Imbonerakure – who spoke of intimidation and irregularities in both the lead-up to the election and during the voting.
Media reports and witness accounts indicate that the voting on June 5 was overwhelmingly dominated by the ruling party. “The Imbonerakure were in front of the polling station telling people to vote for the ruling party,” said a voter in the town of Bururi. “All the workers at the polling station were members of the ruling party. The head of the polling station himself told me to vote for the ruling party.”
People interviewed in Bujumbura, the country’s largest city, Cibitoke, and Rumonge described similar scenes at their polling places. A Burundian civil society organization reported the same patterns in Bubanza, Gitega, Makamba, and Ngozi. “We were told to do everything necessary to make sure that people only voted for the CNDD-FDD,” the Imbonerakure member said.
Opposition parties and witnesses said that opposition party representatives, journalists, and observers were prevented from entering polling places, including when votes were being counted.
In several communes (municipalities), the number of votes cast reportedly exceeded the number of registered voters. Media and witnesses also reported ballot stuffing and the selective distribution of voter cards, excluding opposition members from voting.
A coalition of radio stations, television channels, and print or online media outlets coordinated coverage of the elections, reportedly funded by the Ministry of Communication, Information Technology and Media, and all content produced had to be submitted to a central editorial team, which censored reports that did not align with the official narrative, media reported. A journalist told Human Rights Watch that officials of the electoral body told the media “not to talk about irregularities.”
In December, the electoral commission barred opposition candidates, including members of the opposition Burundi for All (Burundi Bwa Bose in Kirundi) coalition and the CNL, from contesting the June elections, effectively sidelining major opposition voices. Some were able to appeal the decision at the Constitutional Court, but presidential runner-up and former leader of the CNL, Agathon Rwasa, was among those still barred from running.
In January 2024, the interior minister accused the CNL of collaborating with a terrorist organization, after which the party’s general assembly voted to remove Rwasa from leadership. In April 2024, Burundi adopted a new electoral code that significantly raised candidate registration fees and imposed a two-year waiting period for those leaving political parties before they can run again, effectively ensuring that Rwasa would not be eligible.
The authorities, aided by the Imbonerakure, forced the population to register to vote in late 2024, according to media reports and witness accounts. “The population wanted to show that they don’t see the point in this election, and tried to boycott the registration process,” said an observer in Cibitoke. “They were forced [to register], prevented from accessing markets, healthcare centers, administrative services or going to the fields. The Imbonerakure were everywhere to intimidate people.”
The African Union deployed an observation mission and issued a preliminary report on June 7 praising the “peaceful” conduct of Burundi’s legislative and communal elections. It also praised high voter turnout, the “climate of freedom and transparency,” and media coverage. This stands in stark contrast to the AU’s own normative framework on democracy, elections, and human rights, which emphasizes credible, inclusive, and transparent electoral processes. The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and the Economic Community of Central African States also deployed observer missions. The Catholic Church, which has criticized previous elections, deployed observers but some were turned away from polling places.
General elections in May 2020 took place in a highly repressive environment, marred by allegations of irregularities. Throughout the pre-election period, Imbonerakure members committed widespread abuses, especially against people perceived to be against the ruling party, including killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, beatings, extortion, and intimidation.
Burundians have told Human Rights Watch that they feel growing frustration at the ruling party’s governance, at a time when the population is facing a 40 percent annual inflation rate, chronic shortages, significant discrepancies between official and unofficial exchange rates, limited foreign currency reserves, and a fuel crisis that has crippled transport for years. The escalating conflict in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, which has jeopardized cross-border trade and prompted the arrival of over 70,000 refugees and asylum seekers since January 2025, as well as cuts in donor funding have further compounded the situation.
In February, Burundian authorities expelled the director and security officer of the United Nations World Food Programme from the country, after they reportedly advised staff to stock up on essential goods. Civil society and opposition figures continue to report ongoing harassment, extortion, arbitrary detention, and beatings by the Imbonerakure and the authorities as the government remains deeply hostile to perceived criticism.
Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Burundi is a party, states, “Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity … [t]o vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors.”
“Burundi’s democracy has been hollowed out, with a ruling party unaccountable to its people and unwilling to tolerate dissent, even as economic desperation grows,” de Montjoye said. “Without credible opposition, this election only further entrenches authoritarian rule and pushes Burundians further into a deeply rooted governance crisis.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Human Rights Watch (HRW).
