Burundi's parliamentary polls scheduled for Friday will be postponed until a new date is set by the electoral commission, an aide to the president said, with the country rocked by weeks of political crisis. "It is sure. There will be no elections on Friday," Willy Nyamitwe told AFP on Wednesday.
The announcement came as opposition parties said they were ready to resume talks to find a solution to the political crisis triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza's controversial bid for a third term in office. More than 30 people have died in protests that began when Nkurunziza announced in late April that he would stand for re-election after Burundi's constitutional court gave him the green light.
Opponents say his candidacy is unconstitutional and goes against the 2006 Arusha peace deal that ended 13 years of civil war. Nkurunziza survived a coup attempt last month and has since ignored international pressure, including aid cuts, aimed at forcing him to withdraw or at least delay this month's parliamentary and presidential polls. The electoral commission had been considering Wednesday whether to hold the parliamentary elections on June 5 as scheduled. The presidential election is still set for June 26.