Burundi rejects United Nations call for election delay

Burundi's ambassador to the United Nations has told the Security Council that elections will go ahead as planned on Monday despite a call from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for a postponement. "The government simply cannot accept to tumble head-first into an institutional vacuum, into a chasm," Ambassador Albert Shingiro yesterday told the 15-member council.

"That is why we're going to move forward to elections on Monday." 

Parliamentary elections are set to be held on Monday and a presidential vote follows on July 15 despite months of turmoil over the president's bid for a third term in office. 

Earlier yesterday, Ban Ki-moon called for a postponement after the opposition announced a boycott, saying in a statement that the delay was needed to create "a conducive environment for inclusive, peaceful and transparent elections." 

Speaking to an emergency session of the council, the ambassador defended the move to hold elections and accused the opposition of acting "like spoiled brats" who are never satisfied.

Shingiro argued that "95 per cent of the population wants to move forward to the election and not remain hostage to this radical minority, which does not want to see elections, which wishes to see a government of transition to ensure that they can occupy posts without having to respect the results of the vote."