The international community has persistently called for the postponement of elections amidst growing opposition protests insisting that he steps down.

The political atmosphere continues to be tense in Burundi as the incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza has persisted in his determination to run for re-election in the June 26, 2015 presidential election and will not bulge in the face of protests by the opposition that  reject his third term re-election bid as being  unconstitutional thereby calling on him to step down.

Mr Nkurunziza has equally remained adamant to calls from the European Union, United States of America and Switzerland for the election to be postponed and has insisted that the electoral calendar must be respected with legislative elections to take place on May 26, 2015 to be followed by presidential on June 26, 2015. "We encourage the government of Burundi to take measures to calm the situation, and the idea of a delay in the electoral timetable would be for us a good thing," BBC quoted  the European Union Special envoy Koen Vervaeke as having said at a press conference in the Burundian capital, Bujumbura. The President reportedly argued that such as move would plunge Burundi into a deeper crisis.

With the strong will to forge ahead despite the worsening protests, President Nkurunziza launched campaigns for the local elections on behalf of his ruling party, the National Council for the Defense of Democracy–Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD in the Gashoho municipality in Muyinga Province on Monday, May 11, 2015. He told party members and supporters that democracy has become entrenched in Burundi since 2005 thanks to the ruling CNDD-FDD and explained that only elections would avoid new violence in Burundi and even new war, RFI cited.

He said at least 99 per cent of what is required was available for elections to take place. He appreciated the youths of the ruling party called Imbonerakure for being calm in the face of provocative traps. Mr Nkurunziza advised the youths to continue to hold themselves back  from responding violently to provocations, asking them to adopt the same behaviour right up to victory.