Burundi court orders swearing-in of president-elect

LEADERSHIP|

Burundi's constitutional court on Friday ruled that the country's newly elected leader Evariste Ndayishimiye be sworn in following the sudden death of President Pierre Nkurunziza earlier this week.

"No interim necessary, the president-elect .... must be sworn in as soon as possible," presidential advisor Willy Nyamitwe wrote on Twitter of the court's announcement.

Nkurunziza's death on Monday aged 55 came just days after the election of his successor Ndayishimiye, who was meant to be inaugurated in August.

The unusual situation raised questions over how the transition would be managed, with the constitution calling for the speaker of the national assembly to step in if the president dies.

"The constitutional court has made its ruling... there is no point to an interim period, the president-elect must be sworn in as soon as possible," wrote ruling party information secretary Nancy Ninette Mutoni on Twitter.