Brussels, 29/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - The decision of Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza to turn a deaf ear to international mediation calls for the elections to be postponed has led the European Union to announce on Monday 29 June that it was definitively withdrawing its electoral observation mission to the country.
At the same time, the EU reiterated its call for dialogue to be resumed to take the country out of crisis and repeated the threat, brandished by the EU Council of 22 June, of restrictions to EU-Burundi cooperation (see EUROPE 11340).
“The decision of the government of Burundi to disregard the latest international facilitation proposal headed by the African Union, the East African Community, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and the United Nations to postpone the elections is a serious matter. Holding a general election on 29 June without putting in place the minimum conditions to ensure that it is credible, transparent and inclusive can only aggravate the deep crisis facing the country”, said the spokesperson to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini.
The EU, “while restating its full support to facilitation”, “has no option other than definitively to withdraw its electoral observation mission”, the work of which it had suspended on 28 May in the hope that the conditions for free and democratic elections would be re-established.
The spokesperson added that “the decision by the government lays it open, furthermore, to additional measures under the terms of Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement”, which could potentially lead to partial or, indeed, total suspension of cooperation if the government does not address the breaches of the key points of this agreement that links the EU and the ACP countries (respect for human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law).
In light of the “growing threat to human rights and the safety of all Burundians”, the EU believes that “there is no alternative: all Burundians must continue to seek a consensual solution through dialogue and reject violence” (our translation throughout). The EU urges the Burundian government to embrace this approach and makes clear that it will continue to work closely with its African partners and the United Nations to bring this about. (Aminata Niang)