BUJUMBURA
Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza has set May 17 as the date for a referendum on a controversial constitutional reform that could keep him in power until 2034, according to a decree signed Sunday.
Critics accuse Mr Nkurunziza of trying to stay in power for life and say a personality cult has developed around the former rebel chief who has led the central African country since 2005.
REFERENDUM
The government in October drafted reforms that would enable Mr Nkurunziza to serve two seven-year mandates from 2020, but it has come under fire from the Opposition and the international community, particularly the African Union.
The Opposition says the changes could sign the death warrant for the Arusha Peace Accord of 2000, which helped end a 1993-2006 civil war that claimed more than 300,000 lives.
Nkurunziza ran for a third five-year term and was re-elected in 2015 despite a two-term limit under the Constitution, triggering violence that left at least 1,200 people dead and sent more than 400,000 Burundians fleeing abroad.
The government had previously announced that the referendum would take place in May but had not announced the exact date.
The reforms will be adopted if 50 per cent plus one vote cast ballots in favour.
