BUJUMBURA — Burundi’s ruling party has picked General Evariste Ndayishimiye to replace current President Pierre Nkurunziza as their presidential candidate in an election due May this year.
CNDD-FDD party picked Ndayishimiye at an extraordinary party congress held in Bujumbura on Sunday, January 26, 2020.
Nkurunziza has already announced that he will not seek a new election term and Ndayishimiye, who also heads the department of military affairs in the president’s office, is also an ally to Nkurunziza.
Ndayishimiye, 52, has previously served as interior and security minister and chief of the president’s military and civilian cabinet. He was a key signatory of the 2003 ceasefire that ended Burundi’s civil war.
CNDD-FDD party has thanked Nkurunziza for not seeking another term in office and confered on him the title of Supreme Guide of Patriotism on top of giving a luxury villa and more than $500,000 package.
The retired president will also get the same benefits as a serving vice president for seven years after they step down, and will for the rest of their life get an allowance equal to that of a legislator.
In 2015, Nkurunziza’s decision to campaign for a third term plunged the country into violence and led to an enduring political crisis.
