Elections in Tanzania: several opponents arrested after controversial ballot
The President of Tanzania, John Magufuli, during a speech to his supporters on October 27, 2020, in the Dodoma region.
AP Photo
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
The first results of the presidential, legislative and local elections in Tanzania began to fall on Thursday (October 29th).
The candidates for power almost all emerge victorious.
Several members of the opposition have been arrested after demonstrating against these results which they do not recognize.
Internationally, the credibility of the poll is called into question, especially in Washington.
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With our correspondent in the region,
Sébastien Nemeth
All day Thursday, the ACT-Wazalendo party denounced the repression of power against its members.
In Zanzibar, its president, vice-president and central committee members were arrested after calling for a peaceful protest against electoral fraud.
One of them was reportedly beaten by the police and then hospitalized.
The campaign manager was reportedly violently arrested at his home.
The opposition movement is reportedly without news of him.
President John Magufuli's main opponent, Tundu Lissu, has already announced that his side will not
recognize the results
of what he described as a "
unique in the country's history
" fraud
.
He denounced a masquerade, with ballot box stuffing, pre-filled ballots.
Thousands of its observers were reportedly denied access to polling stations.
► To read also: Tanzania: the integrity of the poll strongly questioned
The NGO Tanzania Election Watch calls for a fair and transparent count
International observers have also criticized the process.
The United States admitted "
doubts about the credibility of the results
".
Washington has called on the authorities to engage in dialogue with the opposition and allow the Tanzanians to demonstrate peacefully.
Tanzania Election Watch, an international NGO made up of African personalities, speaks of events which “
damaged the credibility of the vote
”.
The organization called for a fair and transparent count, asking the Election Commission to investigate the complaints.
Statement by Tanzania Elections Watch Panel on Observations made during the Election Day in Tanzania #TanzaniaElectionsWatch # TanzaniaDecides2020 pic.twitter.com/nyZ7G37NYM
Tanzania Elections Watch (@WatchTanzania) October 29, 2020
Its president Frederick Ssempebwa nevertheless recalled that “
unfortunately, the figures published by the NEC were not subject to appeal
”.
He worried about possible violence to come.
Note that in the semi-autonomous territory of Zanzibar, the candidate of the ruling party, Hussein Mwinyi, won with 76% of the vote.
He succeeds Ali Mohamed Shein and becomes the 8th president of Zanzibar since 1964. He called on opponents to join him in building this territory together.
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Tanzania
John Magufuli
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