Burundi’s newly elected President Gen Evariste Ndayishimiye has commended President Yoweri Museveni for his efforts towards peace and stability in the region.
In a tweet Tuesday morning, Gen Ndayishimiye revealed that he had talked to President Museveni in what he described as a “good call.”
“This morning, I had a good call with His Excellency @KagutaMuseveni President of the Republic of Uganda. He congratulated me and my Party @CnddFdd for the victory in the 20 of May Elections in Burundi. He reiterated his engagement to work and strengthen ties with Burundi,” Gen Ndayishimiye said in the tweet.
He added: “I thanked His Excellency@KagutaMuseveni for his tireless support to the People of Burundi and his fruitful efforts towards peace and stability in the region in his capacity of Chairman of the Regional Peace Initiative on Burundi”.
Last week, the Burundian national election commission announced that Ndayishimiye had won 68.72 percent of the vote, while opposition leader Agathon Rwasa came in far behind with 24.19 percent.
Ndayishimiye, 52, is a former army general who was handpicked by the ruling CNDD-FDD to replace President Pierre Nkurunziza, who has been in power since 2005 and whose final years in office have been wracked with turmoil.
Nkurunziza’s third-term election run in 2015 sparked violence which left at least 1,200 dead and pushed 400,000 to flee the country.
Ndayishimiye is set to inherit a deeply isolated country, under sanctions and cut off by foreign donors, its economy and national psyche damaged by the years of political violence and rights violations.
The election was conducted with scant regard to the coronavirus outbreak which has been largely ignored.
In 2018, the new Burundian leader was part of a high-level delegation that delivered a special message from then-President Pierre Nkurunziza.
The message was delivered to President Museveni at State House Entebbe by Burundi Foreign Affairs Minister, Ezechiel Nibigira, who was accompanied by Burundi’s Ambassador to Uganda, Jean Bosco Barege, Mr. Emmanuel Manirakira, and Gen Evariste Ndayishimiye who was at the time, the Secretary-General of the ruling party.