(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Burundian President Pierre Nkurinziza declared on Friday that his country's presidential polls would be held next month as planned despite ongoing political unrest.
The announcement came in a televised speech, ignoring calls by several African states to postpone the polls until the domestic political situation had stabilized.
Nkurinziza also linked ongoing protests against his plan to run for a third term in office to a failed coup attempt against his rule that was quashed on Thursday.
"This is actually a movement that began two years ago by people who want to obtain power by means other than democracy," he said.
Earlier in the day, clashes resumed in capital Bujumbura between security forces and demonstrators opposed to Nkurinziza's planned third-term run.
Protests resumed after a brief period of calm on Thursday evening following clashes between pro- and anti-Nkurinziza troops.
On Wednesday, a group of generals led by former intelligence chief Godefroid Niyombare announced the dismissal of Nkurunziza, who had been in Tanzania at the time to attend a regional summit.
The following day, however, Nkurunziza returned to Burundi, announcing that the coup attempt had failed.
Earlier Friday, Burundian security forces arrested three leaders of the failed coup attempt.
Burundi has been dogged by instability since April 26, when anti-Nkurunziza demonstrators took to the streets to protest the president's planned bid for a third term.
The country's opposition says that Nkurunziza does not have the right to seek a third term in office, citing Burundi's constitution, which limits the number of terms a president can serve to two.
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