Chude Jideonwo and Damola Morenikeji write about the forthcoming election in Burundi scheduled for May 20, 2020.
The piece was published on Mail&Guardian.
Here is an excerpt.
As several nations take measures to protect their citizens against the coronavirus, Burundians will be leaving the safety of their homes for the polls on May 20 for the presidential and parliamentary elections amidst fears of ethnic clashes and the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The country has evidently chosen the option of risking citizens’ lives to bring in another regime rather than keeping them safe at home but whether the risk will be worth the reward remains to be seen.
This election will signal the end of the Pierre Nkurunziza era, a 15-year extended rule that became more autocratic over time, with the government accused of human rights abuses, executions, torture and sexual violence.
But Burundi is not the only country to allow its citizens to go to the polls during a pandemic. South Koreans took to the polls in April amid the coronavirus outbreak for the parliamentary election, with reports claiming that the only difference between that election and the previous one was the presence of hand sanitizers, gloves and special areas for voters who had symptoms of the virus.
Read the full article here.
