This 47-page report is based on four months of field research in Bujumbura and four rural provinces. The report documents numerous incidents of violence, at least one fatal, carried out by and against members of political parties as a means of settling political scores. Most of the violence has involved the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) and its closest competitor in the upcoming elections, the National Liberation Forces (FNL). With a few exceptions, police have failed to carry out thorough investigations, and no one has been prosecuted for the vast majority of these incidents.