Burundi’s Nkurunziza believes God chose him as president

Pierre Nkurunziza has been sworn in as Burundi’s president for a controversial third term in power, the presidency has said, following last month’s disputed elections boycotted by the opposition.

The BBC’s Prime Ndikumagenge in Burundi says the ceremony came as a surprise, as Mr Nkurunziza had been expected to be sworn in next week. Weeks of protests against Nkurunziza third-term bid boiled over mid-May when a section of the military attempted a coup that was quickly put down by the president’s loyalists.

The ceremony was only announced in the morning, apparently in an attempt to avoid protests, analysts said.

The day after the general’s killing, civil rights activist Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa, who had repeatedly accused Nshimirimana of ordering the deaths of government opponents, was himself wounded in an assassination attempt.

Nkurunziza won 69.41 percent of the vote, an immediate first round victory. Critics said his candidacy violated the constitution and the 2000 Arusha agreement, which led to the end of a 12-year civil war in 2005.

AU chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Sunday called for “utmost restraint” by all sides, warning of potential “catastrophic consequences” for troubled Burundi and the wider region if rivals do not resolve political differences peacefully.

Top global envoys from the UN, African Union, European Union, Belgium and the United States have called on all sides to “recommit to a transparent, inclusive and comprehensive political dialogue”.