A Burundi court has said that the Burundian President-elect, Evariste Ndayishimiye, must be sworn in as the country’s leader. Ndayishimiye was elected as the country’s new President last May and was due to be inaugurated in August. However, his predecessor, Pierre Nkurunziza, died last week, allegedly from a heart attack but there is speculation that it was from complications linked to Covid-19.
The Burundian constitution allows for the speaker of Parliament to act as interim leader, but the country’s constitutional court has said that Ndayishimiye should be sworn in as President.
Burundi watchers had expressed concern around the uncertainty regarding who was in charge following Nkurunziza’s death, with some speculation that there could be jockeying among the country’s influential generals to grab power.