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BUJUMBURA. — Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza has won a predicted but controversial third consecutive term in office, according to official election results announced yesterday.

Nkurunziza won 69,41 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s vote, handing him an immediate first-round victory, the election commission said.

Nkurunziza’s candidacy was denounced as unconstitutional by the opposition and provoked months of protests and an attempted coup in the central African nation.

Although eight candidates were on the ballot paper for the presidential polls, most withdrew from the race, with the closure of most independent media preventing them from campaigning. — AFP.