Burundi starts voting in parliamentary election not observed by AU

BUJUMBURA: Voting in a parliamentary election began in Burundi on Monday, the first in a series of polls whose credibility has been undermined by weeks of violent protest sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision to seek a third term.

The African Union stood down its election observers on Sunday, saying the election would be neither free nor fair. Burundi has been in turmoil since April, when Nkurunziza said he would seek a third term, exacerbating months of protests and triggering an abortive military coup last month.