Burundi’s top court has made a ruling aimed at ending the power vacuum created by the sudden death of President Pierre Nkurunziza on Monday.

The Constitutional Court said has that President-elect Evariste Ndayishimiye should be sworn in as soon as possible.

Legally, the speaker of parliament, Pascal Nyabenda, should have become the interim leader.

But the cabinet decided to refer to the court and now Mr Ndayishimiye is due to become president two months early.

He was elected in May to replace President Nkurunziza, who had been in power for 15 years.

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After a change in the constitution, Mr Nkurunziza had been able to run for a further term in last month’s election but decided to retire and was to be known as the “supreme guide to patriotism”.

The government said that he died on Monday of a cardiac arrest after being taken ill on Saturday evening.