Riot police spray teargas on residents participating in street protests against the decision made by Burundi's ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) party to allow President Pierre Nkurunziza to run for a third five-year term in office, in the capital Bujumbura, on Sunday. — Reuters BUJUMBURA — Police in the Burundian capital used water cannon and tear gas on Sunday to disperse protesters demonstrating against President Pierre Nkurunziza seeking a third term, witnesses said, after the government banned protests for or against the move. The ruling CNDD-FDD party nominated Nkuruziza as their presidential candidate at a meeting on Saturday, prompting hundreds of civil society groups to decry the move as a “coup” against the constitution, which limits leaders to two terms in office. “We deplore the way police acted with violence against a peaceful demonstration,” Janvier Bigirimana, a civil society activist, said in the capital Bujumbura. Interior Minister Edouard Nduwimana said the demonstrations were illegal as the government had banned any protest for or against President Nkurunziza running for a third term. “We have asked whoever is against the third term to follow legal procedures. Only the constitutional court can judge if Nkurunziza has the right to run or not,” he said. More than 300 civil society organizations have called for demonstrations and a leading opposition politician has asked Nkuruziza to reconsider. Dozens of protesters gathered in four suburbs of Bujumbura and set off to reach the city center for a march, but riot police blocked their path. In one northern neighborhood, protesters burned tires on the road and threw stones at police, who also shot in the air and used water cannons to disperse the crowd. Burundi's constitution says the president is elected for a five-year term that can be renewed only once. But Nkurunziza's supporters say his first term should not count because he was chosen by Parliament rather than having been voted into office. — Reuters
