Burundi's Ruling Party Nominates Incumbent President for Upcoming Election

Burundi's ruling party, the National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD), has nominated incumbent head of state Évariste Ndayishimiye as its candidate for the 2027 presidential election, according to a party statement.

"After analyzing the outstanding progress achieved by the country in all sectors since 2020 under the leadership of ... Ndayishimiye, all members of the National Council decided to continue this positive trend by selecting ... Ndayishimiye as the CNDD-FDD party representative for the upcoming presidential election," the statement read.

The decision was made on April 26 at an extraordinary party congress in Gitega Province. The event was attended by members of the party's leadership bodies, rank-and-file members, as well as delegations from friendly political parties from Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, Chad, and other countries.

President Ndayishimiye, speaking to the gathering, stated that he would "follow the party's laws" and "serve all Burundians without exception with dedication."

In June of last year, Burundi's ruling CNDD-FDD party won the parliamentary elections. That same month, the head of the National Independent Election Commission, Prosper Ntahorwamiye, invited Russian observers to the 2027 presidential election.