"The constitutional court has decided that the post of the Burundian president is vacant; the appointment of an interim one is optional; it is necessary that President-Elect Evariste Ndayishimiye is sworn in as soon as possible," the government said in a statement on Twitter.
On Tuesday, the Burundian government announced that Nkurunziza, 55, had died from cardiac arrest. Nkurunziza was in power since 2005. In 2020, he refused to run for the top office again, though the ratification of a new constitution allowed him to seek another two terms of seven years. Ndayishimiye was elected as president in May.
Presidential and parliamentary elections in Burundi took place on May 20. Ndayishimiye, the former secretary-general of the ruling CNDD–FDD party, was elected president with 68.7 percent of the vote, while CNDD–FDD secured 72 out of the 100 seats in the parliament.
