Burundi’s ruling party wins all parliamentary seats amid fraud claims

Burundi’s ruling party, the CNDD-FDD, has won all 100 seats contested in the country’s legislative elections, according to results released by the national electoral commission on Wednesday. The sweeping victory has sparked outrage from opposition parties, who have denounced the polls as fraudulent and undemocratic.

The CNDD-FDD secured 96.51% of the vote, while all other parties failed to meet the 2% threshold required for parliamentary representation. Notably, the main opposition party, the National Congress for Liberty (CNL), was largely sidelined ahead of the vote. Its leaders had been removed, and many of its members reported harassment and detention during the campaign period.

Several civil society organizations also raised red flags, pointing to a climate of fear and the arrest of opposition polling agents on voting day.

Despite concerns from observers, officials described the election atmosphere as "peaceful and orderly." But critics argue that calm does not equal fairness. Some constituencies reportedly recorded 100% turnout for CNDD-FDD with zero invalid ballots—a result analysts say is statistically implausible.

The CNDD-FDD has been in power since 2005 and is led by President Évariste Ndayishimiye, who succeeded Pierre Nkurunziza in 2020. Ndayishimiye had promised democratic reforms, but this latest vote consolidates near-total control of the government, raising alarms over Burundi's political trajectory.

With no opposition voices in the National Assembly and a deepening economic crisis gripping the country, many fear that Burundi’s fragile democracy is slipping further into authoritarianism.