Pierre Nkurunziza, president of Burundi, won a third term in office last week. Victory was assured when virtually all opposition groups boycotted the election. The country now faces the very real prospect of violence and the possibility of a renewed civil war.
Burundi's constitution limits a president to two terms. Nkurunziza counters the constitutional bar is not applicable because he was appointed by lawmakers, and not popularly elected, for his first term in 2005.
That legal argument was backed by substantial force: Since he announced he would run for a third term, the government has put down a coup attempt and silenced daily protests that resulted in more than 100 deaths. An opposition leader was assassinated after the failed coup.
The opposition pulled out of the election. Nkurunziza topped an eight-person ballot — most of whom said they did not want to participate in the election — with 69 percent of the vote. The No. 2 candidate won 19 percent.
There is a real danger of violence. The government claims to have killed 31 insurgents in the north and arrested more than 171 others in the runup to the vote. With police firing on protesters, Amnesty International has warned that the country "now appears to be on the verge of conflict." More than 170,000 people have fled the country in fear of a spasm after the election.
Burundi knows well the costs of civil war. A decade ago, sectarian struggles between Tutsis and Hutus resulted in 300,000 deaths. Today, Burundi is one of the poorest and hungriest countries in the world.
Nkurunziza's best claim to govern was the 10 years of peace that had accompanied his presidency. That record has now been shattered and the only remaining question is how much more damage Nkurunziza will inflict on his long-suffering nation.