Burundi

The New York Times reports that an army general in Burundi has announced that the army had ousted President Pierre Nkurunziza.

General Godefroid Niyombare is reported to have said that the President had killed protestors and opponents, overseen a corrupt government, and disregarded a 2000 peace agreement and the 2005 Constitution by seeking a third term.  The new Constitution allows only one renewal of a presidential term. Under Article 96 of the Burundi Constitution, "The President of the Republic is elected by universal direct suffrage for a mandate of five years renewable one time."  Click here for an English translation of the Burundi Constitution.

Mr. Nkurunizza and his supporters claimed that because he was not directly elected in 2005 when he took power, his first term should not count toward the constitutional limit.  Isma'il Kushkush, President Has Been Removed, General Announces, N.Y. Times, May 14, 2015, at A5.

UPDATE: A story today reports that the attempted coup has been quashed and that the country could expect retaliation against the coup leaders and their supporters.

(mew)