Burundi's ruling party seeks to tighten grip on powerThe governing CNDD-FDD party has been in power for 20 yearsThe East African nation was already one of the world's poorest countries, but residents there have been put under further pressure by a recent spike in the price of goods such as food. The elections will test the popularity of the governing CNDD-FDD party, a former rebel group which has been in power for the past 20 years. Voters in Burundi are heading to the polls amid a backdrop of surging inflation, fuel shortages and complaints of political repression. ''We pointed out from the start that everything was being tailor-made [to fit the ruling party]," they said, suggesting that a CNDD-FDD win was a done deal. But the governing party and its leader hold an opposing view.