Burundi’s Constitutional Court on Friday has agreed that president-elect Evariste Ndayishimiye should be sworn in as soon as possible after the sudden death of long-time president Pierre Nkurunziza, who had been in power for 15 years, reported Reuters.
“Ndayishimiye must be sworn in as soon as possible”, the government said in a statement posted on Twitter on Friday.
As per Burundi’s constitution, the Speaker of parliament, Pascal Nyabenda, should have been appointed as the interim leader.
The judges said that in the constitution the interim period under the speaker of parliament was designed as a time to hold fresh elections, but Nkurunziza’s recent election victory made this unnecessary. Although, the opposition unsuccessfully contested the polls which they insist was tainted, the Constitutional Court rejected their petition.
The Burundi cabinet decided to refer to the court and now Mr. Ndayishimiye is going to become the president two months prior to his .
Ndayishimiye, a retired general who Nkurunziza picked as his successor, won the May 2020 presidential election, and his term of office was originally set to begin on August 20.
Notably, Nkurunziza was eligible to run for a fourth term in last month’s election, but he decided to retire. His decision to run for a third term in 2015 sparked protests and violence that killed hundreds of people and prompted hundreds of thousands more to flee the country.
The long time president died at a hospital in eastern Burundi due to heart failure on Monday after he fell ill over the weekend. The Burundi government has declared seven days of mourning in memory of the late president.
Nkurunziza’s wife Denise Nkurunziza was flown to Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, 10 days ago after contracting Covid-19. She is currently recovering at Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya.
Ndayishimiye is expected to be sworn in as early as next week.
