“Extreme care will have to be taken to ensure that Burundi’s forthcoming election will strengthen and reinforce the progress that has been made thus far rather than reverse the gains that have been made. In short,elections should not merely be regarded as a necessary formality in a
country that is again trying to democratise. Far more is at stake. Any contestation of the election outcome and the conflict it may precipitate will merely further weaken the fragile belief that the present process
can actually deliver durable peace. Having tried so hard through more than four years of negotiations to find a workable solution, this second attempt at democratisation cannot be allowed to fail. If it does, this will have disastrous consequences for the country and its people.”
