Story highlights
- Spokesman: President delays parliamentary, local council elections until June 6
- Burundi has been in turmoil since President announced he'd seek a third term
- Burundi solider shot amid standoff with police in nation's capital
Bujumbura, Burundi (CNN)As protests and sporadic violence continue to roil his country, Burundi's President has pushed back the parliamentary and local council elections by one week, to June 6, a presidential spokesman said Wednesday.
President Pierre Nkurunziza is set to make a formal announcement about the delay later Wednesday at the African nation's State House. Presidential spokesman Willy Nyamitwe told CNN that Nkurunziza made the decision after getting sadvice from Burundi's Electoral Commission and East African leaders.
The move comes amid continued turmoil in Burundi, much of it centered around Nkurunziza's decision to seek a third term. Such a re-election bid is prohibited by the agreement that ended the nation's 1993-2003 civil war, yet the President is pushing forward nonetheless.
Protesters determined to prevent his candidacy have demonstrated in the capital, Bujumbura, and police have met them with deadly force. Such clashes haven't let up, with police firing tear gas and shooting into the air again on Wednesday.
The military has sometimes acted as a buffer between police and protesters. That happened again Wednesday in Bujumbura, with troops urging police not to fire live rounds on protesters.
One of those police then fired, at which point police and the military engaged in a standoff. It ended with the military pushing police away from the scene.
Decision comes days after coup attempt foiled
The unrest began last month when Nkurunziza signaled his intention to extend his 10-year stay leading Burundi.
Why 100,000 just fled their homes 02:35
The turmoil also helped spawn an attempted coup last week while the President was out of the country.
Shortly after Nkurunziza returned Friday from a summit in Tanzania, authorities said they had arrested Army Gen. Godefroid Niyombare and others involved in the failed plot. They will be charged with mutiny in a military court, said Nyamitwe, the presidential spokesman.
Nkurunziza on Friday tweeted congratulations to security forces on "their patriotism" and Burundians "for their patience," while also warning against other attempts to force him from power.
Any such efforts, he said in a nationwide TV address, would "bring war, poverty and other atrocities we have seen in this country."
Photos: Unrest in Burundi
An opposition demonstrator points a mock gun at soldiers in Bujumbura, Burundi, on Wednesday, June 3. Animosity against Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza boiled over in April when he expressed his intention to run for a third term. There have been demonstrations and a failed coup attempt.
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A young Burundian boy tries to cover himself as police officers beat him at an anti-government demonstration in Bujumbura on Tuesday, May 26.
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Police detain a protester at an anti-government demonstration in Bujumbura on May 26.
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Armed with sticks, members of the Imbonerakure, the youth wing of the ruling party, grab a protester Monday, May 25, in Bujumbura.
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A Burundian soldier fires a shot toward protesters at an anti-government demonstration in Bujumbura on May 25.
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The body of Zedi Feruzi, a political opposition leader, lies on a road near his home in Bujumbura's Ngagara district on Saturday, May 23. He was killed in a drive-by shooting.
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An anti-government protester throws a rock at police officers in Bujumbura on Thursday, May 21.
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Protesters pull electrical cable to topple a power pole at an anti-government demonstration in Bujumbura on May 21.
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A protester stands by a burning barricade in Bujumbura on May 21.
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Police officers hold a position in Bujumbura on Wednesday, May 20.
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Protesters gather stones to throw at police on May 20.
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A police officer and a plainclothes member of the Intelligence Services kick a protester in Bujumbura on May 20.
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Burundians wait to be transferred to a refugee camp on May 20.
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A police officer fires tear gas toward protesters on May 20.
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People in Bujumbura demonstrate against Nkurunziza on Saturday, May 16. A coup attempt in the central African nation failed earlier in the week.
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Gen. Niyungeko Juvenal, at center in handcuffs, is taken to the Supreme Court in Bujumbura on May 16. Seventeen alleged coup plotters appeared before a prosecutor.
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Government spokesman Willy Nyamitwe is carried by supporters in Bujumbura on Friday, May 15, as people celebrate Nkurunziza's return after the failed coup attempt.
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People line the streets as they celebrate the return of Nkurunziza on May 15. Burundian authorities said they arrested the military generals behind the attempted coup shortly after the President returned to the country.
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A civilian jumps over a barricade erected by residents to protect themselves from police in Bujumbura on Thursday, May 14.
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Smoke rises from several buildings near the port in Bujumbura on May 14.
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Police grab a man at a protest in Bujumbura on Wednesday, May 13.
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Burundi police and army forces face protesters on May 13 at a demonstration against Nkurunziza in Bujumbura.
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Demonstrators take part in a protest in Bujumbura on May 13.
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Burundi police and army forces run on May 13 after protesters threw stones during a demonstration in Bujumbura.
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With army soldiers riding in an armored vehicle, demonstrators in Bujumbura celebrate the reported coup attempt on May 13.
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A man raises his arms as people celebrate in the streets of Bujumbura on May 13 after a radio announcement that Nkurunziza was overthrown.
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Burundians carry an injured man after security forces clashed with demonstrators in Bujumbura on May 13.
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Burundian refugees gather at the shore of Lake Tanganyika in western Tanzania as they wait for a ferry to take them to Kigoma township on Tuesday, May 12. Government officials in Tanzania told local media that at least 80,000 refugees have arrived in Kigoma since Burundi's pre-election skirmishes began.
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Smoke rises after security forces fired tear gas during a protest on May 12 in Bujumbura.
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