Tanzania: opposition rejects election results in advance
Outgoing President of Tanzania John Magufuli (l.) And opposition party Chadema candidate for the October 28 presidential election, Tundu Lissu.
AFP / Ericky Boniphace
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
On October 28, 29 million voters were called to ballot in Tanzania for presidential, legislative and local elections.
President John Magufuli is running for a second five-year term.
As the results began to be given by the electoral commission on Thursday, the opposition said it would not recognize them.
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With our correspondent in the region,
Sébastien Nemeth
“
This election is a complete scam
,” Tundu Lissu said.
The opponent, leader of the ACT-Wazalendo party and Tanzanian presidential candidate, denounced "
unprecedented fraud in Tanzanian history
", speaking of multiple violations of the electoral code.
Tundu Lissu explained that his observers had been barred from accessing thousands of polling stations, others were allowed but six hours after the start of the election.
"
The ballot stuffing had already taken place,
" he said, adding that many officers never received the transcripts of the vote.
"
Unfounded accusations
"
For Tundu Lissu, "
the will of the Tanzanians has been violated
", "
the results are therefore already illegitimate
" and therefore,
"
the opposition will not recognize them
".
He also called on the international community not to recognize the results either and to put pressure on the government, the Electoral Commission and the heads of the security services.
The opposition finally called on citizens "
to take this problem into their own hands through massive and democratic actions and demonstrations
".
His lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, told him that he had documented these frauds and filed files with the African Union (AU) and the Commonwealth organization.
In the semi-autonomous territory of Zanzibar, which voted on Tuesday, October 27, opposition candidate Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad also called for peaceful demonstrations this morning.
But according to his ACT party, he was arrested soon after, along with his vice-president and members of the movement's central committee.
The frauds have already been denied by the Electoral Commission (NEC).
The president of the institution, Semistocles Kaijage, considered that these allegations were not substantiated.
He therefore urged the Tanzanians to ignore these "
baseless accusations
".
► See also: Tanzania: start of general elections, the opposition denounces irregularities
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