Burundi set vote out long serving President

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Burundi holds on Wednesday its first competitive presidential election since a civil war erupted in 1993, despite simmering political violence and the new coronavirus pandemic.

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President Pierre Nkurunziza, whose government has repeatedly been accused of rights abuses, will step down after 15 years. His ruling CNDD-FDD party candidate, retired army general Evariste Ndayishimiye, is running against opposition leader Agathon Rwasa and five others.

The election is meant to usher in the first democratic transition in 58 years of independence for the impoverished east African nation, after widespread international criticism of its last election in 2015, when Nkurunziza ran for a third term.

His opponents said the move violated a peace deal that ended the civil war and boycotted the poll. The election sparked violent protests that drove hundreds of thousands of Burundians into exile. U.N. reports documented hundreds of killings and the torture and gang-rape of opposition activists. Donors withdrew funding in protest.

The government denies accusations of rights violations.