Burundi’s ruling party CNDD-FDD has won all 100 parliamentary seats in last week’s election, sparking outrage from opposition parties who say the result has destroyed democracy in the country.

The electoral commission announced the provisional results on Wednesday, confirming that CNDD-FDD received more than 96% of the votes in all provinces.

“The election had only some minor irregularities,” electoral commission head Prosper Ntahorwamiye said. He added that the shortcomings had been resolved and described the process as generally smooth.

Opposition parties rejected the outcome, describing it as fraudulent. The Uprona party came a distant second with slightly more than 1% of the vote. Its leader Olivier Nkurunziza told AFP: “We have killed democracy.”

The National Congress for Liberty (CNL), which has long been seen as the main challenger to CNDD-FDD, came third with just 0.6% of the vote.

Human Rights Watch said the election results showed that democracy had been “hollowed out” in Burundi, accusing the ruling party of working to “dismantle all meaningful opposition”.

The group also raised concerns about widespread harassment and intimidation of critics in the lead-up to the polls. It reported that some Catholic Church election observers were turned away from polling centres.

Despite these concerns, the African Union declared the elections “peaceful” and praised what it called a “climate of freedom and transparency”. This has drawn criticism from rights groups and opposition figures, who argue that the vote lacked fairness and was marred by repression.

In the capital Bujumbura, there were no visible celebrations after the results were made public. Correspondents noted a quiet and subdued atmosphere, contrasting with typical post-election scenes in other nations.

Under Burundi’s constitution and the Arusha Accords that ended its civil war two decades ago, parliament must reflect the country’s ethnic makeup — Hutus, Tutsis, and Twa. The electoral commission said it would add 11 more seats to correct an imbalance after the vote, bringing the total number of MPs to 111.

The results will be submitted to the Constitutional Court, which must certify them and release the final count by 20 June.