Frodebu Party

Opposition parties will boycott Burundi's elections in protest at the president's bid for a third term and on concerns that voting will not be fair, party officials said, escalating the nation's worst political crisis since a civil war ended in 2005.

Several leading opposition figures in Burundi called today for a boycott of next month's presidential vote, saying it would be impossible to hold it during unrest triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision to seek a third term.

Opposition parties will boycott Burundi's elections in protest at the president's bid for a third term and on concerns that voting will not be fair, party officials said, escalating the nation's worst political crisis since a civil war ended in 2005.

Several leading opposition figures in Burundi called today for a boycott of next month's presidential vote, saying it would be impossible to hold it during unrest triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision to seek a third term.