Burundi elections: Ruling party seeks to tighten grip on power

Voters are heading to the polls following a campaign period marked by reports of political repression.

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Seats in the National Assembly and local councils are up for grabs but Évariste Ndayishimiye is safe in his role as president as he is serving a seven-year term that ends in 2027.

The elections will test the popularity of the governing CNDD-FDD party, a former rebel group which has been in power for the past 20 years.

The East African nation was already one of the world's poorest countries, but residents there have been put under further pressure by a recent spike in the price of goods such as food.

Opposition parties have complained that their supporters have been harassed and intimidated by members of the CNDD-FDD's youth league, the Imbonerakure.