Presidency Says Burundi Parliamentary Vote Postponed

Burundi's parliamentary polls scheduled for Friday will be postponed until a new date is set by the electoral commission, an aide to the president said, with the country rocked by weeks of political crisis.

"It is sure. There will be no elections on Friday," Willy Nyamitwe told AFP on Wednesday.

He said the new timetable would take into account recommendations from regional leaders as well as constitutional limits. Presidential elections are due to be held on June 26.

Opposition parties in Burundi said earlier Wednesday they are ready to resume talks to find a solution to the crisis triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza's controversial bid for a third term in office.

The opposition statement followed a summit on Burundi's political crisis at the weekend at which regional heads of state asked that presidential elections be postponed until at least mid-July.

More than 30 people have died in protests that began when Nkurunziza announced in late April that he would stand for re-election after Burundi's constitutional court gave him the green light.

Opponents say his candidacy is unconstitutional and goes against the 2006 Arusha peace deal that ended 13 years of civil war.