Burundi elections As it happened: Turnout low as millions headed to controversial presidential poll

The CENI may publish the election results in two days "at the earliest", according to France24.

According to local sources, turnout was lower in the more urban areas "because people were more fearful" than in rural areas.

In the Cankuzo province, for instance, the official CENI results for the area's eight polling stations confirmed the trend.

In the more urban areas, results given by the CENI to IBTimes UK were as followed:

• 126 voters out of 316 registered (39.8%)
• 139 voters out of 318 registered (43.1%)
• 153 voters out of 370 registered (42.3%)
• 152 voters out of 368 registered (41.3%)

These differed greatly to those from the more rural areas:

• 245 voters out of 344 (71.2%)
• 251 voters out of 344 (72.9%)
• 248 voters out of 343 (72.3%)
• 209 voters out of 270 (77.4%)

In rural Bujumbura, at 5.30pm (local time), turnout was 30%, with opposition party FNL leader Agathpn Rwasa largely ahead with around 70% of votes, according to RFI.

In Mwaro, turnout was 11% when the polling stations closed, RFI also reported.

Counting has begun as voting is now closed in most of the polling stations ain Burundi.

Media across the country have been reporting that the turnout "does seem to be lower than last month's elections".

The government had "invited the people to massively express its legitimate will" in a statement it published on 16 July.

Media have reported that at 3.30pm local time a number of polling station had already started counting votes.

This was the case in Nyakabiga, where members of the independent electoral commission (CENI) had already finished counting.

In Bubanza Province in north-western Burundi, the situation was calm, and residents described how traffic was lighter than usual.

"In the parking of Bubanza and at the market there were less moto-taxis and taxis than usual. It was much easier to circulate in the streets," a Bubanza resident, K., told IBTimes UK.

The source explained the number of voters was "small" in the commune - a turnout he estimated "at less than 50%" at 2pm local time.

There have been reports members of the independent electoral commission (CENI), who had been supervising the polling stations in the area, "went for walks because there were not many voters".

The US Department of State has released a statement slamming the Burundi elections as "not credible" warning that they "will further discredit the government."

There have been reports of an angry crowd throwing stones at police in Nyakabiga.

Burundi's government has taken to Twitter to encourage people to vote. It said: "Today is very important for democracy in Burundi. It gives a voice and a choice to the people."

Residents in Nyakabiga lit up a barricade previously erected.

Pictures of Nkurunziza "dressed casually" as he heads to the polling station in Buye Ngozi circulate on social media.

There have been reports of voters being searched outside a polling station.

According to a journalist, some people cheered as others wrote "Nkurunziza = killer" on a street in Nyakabiga.

As Burundi goes to the polls, IBTimes UK looks at the history behind the embattled elections.

There have been reports of voters cleaning their hands after having voted at polling stations near military camps.

"Police and army officers went to vote but some, when they finished voting, tried to take the indelible ink off their fingers to hide they participated. It's an election when people are not proud of voting," a man from Bujumbura said over the phone.

"There is this shyness, this fear," the source said.

In other areas, however, voters were proud to show their marked fingers.

Sources have told IBTimes UK that people were going to vote "very timidly", as they claim they are "scared of tomorrow".

"There were gunshots all night everywhere in the capital and one person was killed, so the atmosphere is very tense here," one man from the capital Bujumbura, who wished to remain anonymous, explained.

"We don't know what is happening in the interior of the country, and we don't know what will happen if the elections are rejected or if Nkurunziza will continue to control the country," the man said. "It's very ambiguous".

A young man who lives in Mutakura, a district known for having been the stage of some of the protests against the president's contested third term, told IBTimes UK "around 95% of the residents" in the neighbourhood are boycotting the poll.

"Here, no one has gone to vote. It almost looks like today is not a major event," Innocent said. "I have my electoral card, but I don't dare go to vote."

During the 29 June elections, residents of Mutakura also failed to turn up to the polling stations, the young man added.

Innocent confirmed hearing sustained gunshots accompanied by grenades during the night in what he described as a stand-off between anti-third term mandate protesters and security forces.

Embattled President Pierre Nkurunziza has voted in his hometown of Ngozi.

Local media reported hearing blasts, gunfire and explosions in protest neighbourhoods as President Pierre Nkuruniziza's bid for a third term in office ignited unrest over night.

Witnesses said unknown assailants in Ngagara district had opened fire on police officers who returned fire. Explosions and shots were also heard in Nyakabiga and Kanyosha districts, residents said.

Residents reported one person was found dead in Nyakabiga.