5th June, 2020
General Evariste Ndayishimiye has been confirmed as the president-elect of Burundi by the constitutional court.
He won 68.70 percent of votes, according to the final result announced by the court.
Runner-up, Agathon Rwasa of the National Council for Liberty(CNL) got 24.18 percent.
Chairman of the Constitutional Court Charles Ndagijimana gave the ruling in Bujumbura, Burundi’s largest city.
The court also said the complaints against the provisional results filed by Rwasa are unfounded.
Rwasa had challenged the provisional results, alleging the elections were characterized by irregularities
Burundi voters went to the polls on May 20 to elect a new president, members of the National Assembly, and district councilors.
The National Independent Electoral Commission on May 25 declared Ndayishimiye from the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) the winner of the presidential election with 68.72 percent of votes.
Under the new constitution promulgated in June 2018, the presidential term is extended from five to seven years and the president can serve two consecutive terms.
Ndayishimiye, born in 1968, is currently the secretary general of the ruling party.
He was a former Minister of Home Affairs and Public Security.
He also served as a senior advisor in the office of the president in charge of military affairs and later civil affairs, successively.
He will succeed President Pierre Nkurunziza, who has been in power since 2005.