Ndayishimiye is an ally of current President Pierre Nkurunziza who will not seek a new mandate after his controversial election to a third term in 2015 plunged the country into crisis. Nkurunziza was present when the CNDD-FDD party picked Ndayishimiye at an extraordinary party congress. The violent aftermath of the last presidential election in 2015 made Burundi a focus of an investigation by the International Criminal Court for alleged murders, rapes, tortures, and disappearances. Ndayishimiye, 52, is already a key member of Burundi’s ruling elite. He was a key signatory of the 2003 ceasefire that ended Burundi’s civil war.

Source: The Guardian January 26, 2020 12:56 UTC