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Burundi’s ruling party CNDD-FDD sweeps parliamentary elections

By  Agencies

What you need to know:

  • The National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) reported that CNDD-FDD secured 96.51 percent of the national vote.

Bujumbura. Burundi’s long-dominant party, the National Council for the Defense of Democracy–Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD), has won every seat in the country’s Parliament, according to official results announced on Wednesday, June 11, 2025.

The National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) reported that CNDD-FDD secured 96.51 percent of the national vote.

“No other party reached the constitutional minimum threshold of 2 percent required to enter Parliament, so all 100 seats go to CNDD-FDD,” said Prosper Ntahorwamiye, chairperson of CENI, during a live television broadcast.

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This clean sweep further consolidates CNDD-FDD’s grip on power in the East African nation, where it has ruled since 2005.

The election, however, took place in the absence of key opposition parties. The National Congress for Liberty (CNL), the main opposition group, was barred from participating. Authorities cited a suspension order, internal leadership disputes, and disqualification of candidates over policy-related issues as reasons for its exclusion.

Anicet Niyonkuru, leader of the Council of Patriots and a parliamentary candidate, denounced the process, alleging large-scale fraud, including the stuffing of pre-filled ballots. “It was massive fraud visible everywhere,” he claimed.

Olivier Nkurunziza, head of the opposition party Uprona—which garnered only 1.38 percent of the vote—also rejected the results, calling the election rigged. “We have dismantled democracy,” Nkurunziza said.

“In some constituencies, CNDD-FDD was declared to have won every single vote, with no invalid ballots, no voter absences, and no dissenting votes—even though Uprona fielded more than 50 candidates.”

Independent reports from journalists and voters—speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals—described significant violations of electoral procedures.

The political climate for the opposition has been increasingly hostile. In June 2023, the Ministry of Interior suspended all activities of CNL, citing irregularities in internal meetings—a move widely viewed as a de facto national ban on the party.

In the headlines