Burundi Votes in Referendum That Would Allow President to Serve Until 2034

Ten countries across Africa have scrapped term limits, worrying democracy activists

Burundians voted Thursday on whether to change the east African nation’s constitution to allow the president to extend his term to 2034, potentially bolstering a trend on the continent of abandoning term limits that has alarmed democracy activists.

President Pierre Nkurunziza, the 54-year-old scion of a political family and former sports teacher, has been in power since 2005 and has steadily tightened his grip. His country, the world’s third-poorest, has been steeped in violence amid a brutal government crackdown on the opposition...