The East African region will in coming weeks be anxiously watching the unfolding political crisis in Burundi following a parting of ways between the ruling coalition partners over fears that President Pierre Nkurunzinza is seeking a third term.

Burundi is scheduled to hold elections in June 2015 but the withdrawal of the Union for National Progress (Uprona) raises political temperatures in a country where the ruling National Council for Defence of Democracy-Forces for Defence of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) is facing accusations of increasing intolerance and abuse of human rights.

READ: Political crisis in Burundi as Tutsi ministers quit

The country is still grappling with the aftermath of 13 years of instability, which was the reason why the East African Community member states in 2010 spared no efforts to ensure that the country held violence-free elections.

Uprona was the only party that participated in the 2010 elections, which were boycotted by the main opposition National Liberation Forces (FNL) led by Agathon Rwasa.

Yet Uprona — a mainly Tutsi party — is now becoming jittery at the prospect of President Nkurunzinza running again and is unhappy with the manner in which land distribution has been favouring Hutus.

President Nkurunzinza is constitutionally supposed to stay out of the 2015 elections, having been elected in 2005 for the first of two five-year terms in the first democratic elections after 13 years of civil war and a series of assassinations of the country’s presidents.

But some CNDD-FDD supporters argue that the president was elected by the National Assembly in 2005 and not by universal suffrage, and that he can thus run for another term in 2015.

Presidential spokesman Willy Nyamitwe maintained that President Nkurunziza has not declared his candidature.

However, the government has openly stated that it wishes to see the United Nations Office in Burundi (BNUB) end its mandate by February 15 on grounds that its continued presence sends signals to foreign investors that the country is unstable.

BNUB was established by the United Nations Security Council in December 2010 as a scaled-down operation to replace the United Nations Integrated Office in Burundi from January 1, 2011.

The UN responded by sending a strategic assessment mission in November last year that recommended a scaling down of BNUB “political mission” and the appointment of a special envoy to promote and facilitate dialogue between national actors and co-ordinate international efforts to ensure a conducive, free and fair environment for the 2015 elections.

READ: Burundi wants UN peace mission to leave, Ban says it should stay till elections

Concerns raised by Burundi forced the UN Secretary-General’s special representative and head of BNUB, Onanga-Anyanga, to hold talks with the government to try to reach an agreement regarding a continued UN political presence in the country.

The strategic assessment mission concluded that the security situation in Burundi remained stable, but in light of the political and institutional challenges in the country, and human-rights concerns, BNUB should remain until after the June 2015 General Election.

In its country report for February 2013, the United Nations Security Council expressed concern about continuing violations of human rights, in particular ongoing extrajudicial killings, mistreatment of detainees and torture, limitations on the freedom of the press and freedom of expression, as well as limited space for opposition parties to associate and assemble.

But the Burundi government through its UN ambassador, Hermenegilde Niyonzima, maintained that the country had worked hard to ensure respect for human rights and has established an independent electoral commission to ensure competitive politics.