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A grave is prepared in Burundi’s Ruhagarika village during the burial of 24 people killed by an armed group. The attack came days ahead of a constitutional referendum on May 17 which could allow President Pierre Nkurunziza to rule for up to 14 years beyond the end of his current term in 2020.STR/Getty Images

The secretary-general of Burundi’s ruling party has a stark warning for any voter who dares to disagree with a plan to extend the president’s rule.

“Anyone who votes No will be a traitor, bought and paid for by white colonizers,” Evariste Ndayishimiye told the party’s final rally before Thursday’s referendum. “They’re enemies of the country. They’re even devils, because voting No will bring a curse.”

Nobody expects anything except a crushing victory for the ruling party on Thursday when Burundians vote in a referendum to extend the rule of President Pierre Nkurunziza for up to 14 years beyond the expiry of his current term in 2020. But the regime is taking no chances. Anyone who advocates a boycott of the vote can be imprisoned for up to three years under the referendum laws.

This will be the second controversial extension of Mr. Nkurunziza’s presidential term. The first extension, in 2015, sparked months of protests and violence in the streets, killing an estimated 1,200 people and forcing 430,000 to flee the country. This time, the government is creating a personality cult around the President, calling him the “supreme traditional leader.”

The latest planned extension is a dangerous move, sparking fears of deepening violence in a troubled region with a long history of war and massacres. But it’s just the latest sign of a growing trend in Central and Eastern Africa, where authoritarian leaders are finding new ways to prolong their power.

Since 2015, the rulers of five countries in Central and Eastern Africa have dodged the legal limits on their term.

Some countries – Uganda, Rwanda, the Republic of the Congo and Burundi – have used constitutional amendments and referendums to get rid of the age limits or term limits for their rulers. One President, Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has simply ignored the end of his legal term, claiming that an election could not be organized in time.

Each of these five countries is becoming more authoritarian as their term limits are tossed aside, and the trend is especially strong in Burundi, according to a report this month by Freedom House, an independent U.S.-based watchdog on democracy and freedom around the world.

“Efforts by civil society and the public to combat these power grabs have been met with intimidation, political violence, torture and arrests,” the report said. “This casts serious doubt on any arguments by leaders that they are only seeking to remain in office to ensure stability and democratic progress.”

In Burundi, where Mr. Nkurunziza has been the dominant ruler since the end of a civil war in 2005, the government has suspended BBC and Voice of America for six months to prevent them from broadcasting during the referendum campaign. It has even suspended the online comments section of Iwacu, the country’s main independent newspaper. It has also forced its citizens to make financial contributions to the cost of the next elections.

The threats from the ruling party have been ominous. One leader told the party’s supporters to “castrate the enemy,” while another said their opponents should be drowned in Lake Tanganyika.

The fears were heightened when 26 people were killed by armed men on Friday night and Saturday morning in a village about 60 kilometres northwest of the capital, Bujumbura. Ten women and 11 children were among the dead. Residents said the attackers wore military uniforms, although their motives are not yet clear.

“In this febrile atmosphere, it is a very dangerous development,” said a statement by United Nations human-rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein. “Burundi is awash with rumours, political negotiations are deadlocked, and tensions are rising sharply in the wake of this attack, with many dreading what may happen during and after Thursday’s referendum.”

A significant number of opposition politicians and others calling for a No vote have been targeted for arbitrary arrest by security forces, often with help from the notorious pro-government Imbonerakure militia, Mr. al Hussein said. “Everyone will suffer if Burundi explodes into violence during or after the referendum,” he added.

Human-rights groups have documented hundreds of killings and detentions by government forces. One local organization, la Ligue Iteka, has reported that 456 people were assassinated, 283 were tortured and 2,338 were arbitrarily arrested last year, the vast majority by the government.

An international group, Human Rights Watch, says the authorities and their supporters have enjoyed “widespread impunity” for their actions, including the recent deaths of two men who were allegedly beaten to death by state agents.

Last November, the International Criminal Court authorized an investigation into allegations of state-sponsored crimes against humanity in Burundi, including murder, attempted murder, torture, rape, enforced disappearance and severe deprivation of liberty.

Just a few days earlier, Burundi had become the first member country to quit the international court.

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