Makamba under lock and key : How the CNDD-FDD blocked the June 5th election

SOS Médias Burundi

Makamba, June 7, 2025 – While the legislative and district elections have just concluded in the small east African nation, serious irregularities are marring the electoral process in several districts of Makamba province (southern Burundi). Targeted exclusions of representatives and observers, ballot stuffing, and results announced without any oversight : according to testimonies collected by SOS Médias Burundi, the vote was blocked in favor of the CNDD-FDD, the former Hutu rebel group in power since 2005 thanks to the August 2000 Arusha Peace Agreement.

Before the election day, residents are talking about the selective distribution of voter cards.

In the days leading up to the election, many activists affiliated with opposition parties did not receive their voter registration cards, particularly in the districts of Kayogoro and Makamba. This targeted exclusion raised serious concerns among local party and religious leaders, who viewed it as a deliberate strategy to limit voter turnout.

On eection day: systematic exclusion of representatives and observers

As soon as polling stations opened, electoral monitors of opposition political parties and accredited observers—including those mandated by the Catholic Church—were turned away from several polling stations.
The polling station presidents denied them entry, arguing that they did not appear on the official observer lists, despite letters of accreditation duly signed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI). Concrete cases were reported to SOS Médias Burundi : Catholic observers from the Makamba parish, sent to the Independent District Electoral Commission (CECI), were then redirected to the CEPI (Independent Provincial Electoral Commission) in Burunga. There, they were told that the person competent to decide was “unavailable.” As a result, these observers were forced to abandon their mission.

The count : the Imbonerakure at work

The few non-CNDD-FDD electoral monitors who had been able to attend the voting operations were ousted during the count.
The Imbonerakure, the youth wing of the ruling party, and the polling station officials—all CNDD-FDD supporters—announced the results without any external oversight.

Several witnesses report a chaotic process : results announced in a contradictory manner; figures revised several times, sowing confusion.

Emblematic cases in Vugizo district

Exclusion practices were particularly systematic in Vugizo district. In several polling stations, only CNDD-FDD representatives were allowed to attend the count. The others were expelled before the start of the process and were not allowed to sign the minutes.

The polling stations concerned include :

Kigombe Primary School

Nyesanga Primary School

Karonge Primary School

Vugizo Primary School

Rutonde Primary School

Mutobo Primary School

Myumba Primary School

Kiya Primary School

Mudende Primary School

Nyamirinzi Primary School

Mbizi Primary School

In these centers, opposition electoral monitors were excluded before the count and left without being able to sign the minutes. Some now denounce open electoral fraud.

Legal actions announced, despite widespread distrust

Faced with these irregularities, several opposition party leaders have announced their intention to take legal action. But many acknowledge a lack of confidence in the independence of Burundi’s courts.

Makamba, a province traditionally characterized by high voter turnout, now finds itself at the center of a major electoral controversy.
Testimonies converge : the process was blocked, steered, and manipulated to the benefit of the CNDD-FDD.

A situation that calls into question the CENI, civil society organizations, and international partners involved in election observation.