BUJUMBURA
For the first time in Burundi's history, eight candidates have applied to contest the upcoming presidential polls, scheduled for next month.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) said eight candidates, including incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza and Gerard Nduwayo of the opposition Union for National Progress, had submitted their applications before the Saturday deadline.
"I submitted my application on Saturday to run in the elections in accordance with the country's electoral law and the constitution," Rwasa Agathon, an opposition figure, told Anadolu Agency.
"But we will continue to demand that Nkurunziza drop his bid for a third term," he insisted.
In 1993, only three candidates vied for the presidency. In the 2005 and 2010 polls, only Nkurunziza stood uncontested in the polls.
The unprecedented number of presidential candidate comes amid continuing tension in the central African nation over Nkurunziza's re-election bid.
At least 20 people have been killed – and more than 100 injured – since protests against the bid first erupted in late April.
Critics say a third-term run by Nkurunziza would violate the terms of the 2000 Arusha agreement, which – along with ending a Hutu-Tutsi civil war – stipulated that Burundi's president should serve no more than two terms in office.
But Burundi's Constitutional Court has ruled that Nkurunziza's bid for a third term does not violate the constitution.
It said that since he was elected in 2005 by parliament and not by the people, Nkurunziza's first stint in office should not be counted as a first presidential term.
Nkurunziza, a former rebel leader, has been in power since 2005, when he was appointed by parliament following a peace deal that ended a 12-year civil war.
