Whatever happened on Wednesday wasn\u2019t an election and was like \u201cspitting in the face of democracy,\u201d Tanzania\u2019s leading opposition candidate said Thursday, while the United States noted \u201ccredible allegations of significant election-related fraud and intimidation.\u201d The other main opposition party said several leaders were arrested after calling for protests, and one was badly beaten.<\/p>\n
Many across Africa have watched in dismay at what they\u2019ve described as Tanzania\u2019s abandonment of its reputation of democratic ideals under populist President John Magufuli. He leads in early results as he seeks a second five-year term.<\/p>\n
As the ruling party was winning an overwhelming majority of parliamentary seats, and the leaders of both top opposition parties lost theirs, the U.S. said \u201cirregularities and the overwhelming margins of victory raise serious doubts about the credibility of the results announced today.\u201d It noted widespread blocking of social media, repeat voting and pre-filling of ballots.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose in power are telling Tanzanians, \u2018If you want change, look for it another way, not through the ballot box,\u2019\u201d leading opposition candidate Tundu Lissu of the CHADEMA party told reporters. \u201cThe message they are sending is, \u2019Use force if you can … We won\u2019t let you win through democracy.\u201d But he called for protests by democratic means.<\/p>\n
Lissu, who survived an assassination attempt in 2017 and returned from exile this year, asserted that thousands of observers were turned away from polling stations.<\/p>\n
The other top opposition party, ACT Wazalendo, said its presidential candidate in the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar, Seif Sharif Hamad, was arrested for the second time this week, along with other party leaders, and that party official Ismail Jussa was \u201cseverely beaten\u201d by soldiers.<\/p>\n
The U.S. ambassador, Donald J. Wright, said Hamad should be released immediately, tweeting that \u201cDetaining opposition leaders is not the act of a government confident in its electoral victory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hamad was later released.<\/p>\n
Zanzibar\u2019s electoral commission said Hamad finished second with just 19% of the vote, while the ruling party candidate won with 76%. The commission didn\u2019t comment on the arrests. Police also didn\u2019t comment but confirmed at least 70 arrests in the past two days in election-related incidents. Streets into Zanzibar\u2019s main city, Stone Town, were blocked.<\/p>\n
\u201cTanzania in full blown one party dictatorship. We shall resist this,\u201d ACT Wazalendo chair Zitto Kabwe tweeted. \u201cI ask the international community NOT to recognize this Tanzanian election.\u201d<\/p>\n
But at the United Nations, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: \u201cLook, we don\u2019t have a mandate to assess these elections, right? We\u2019re not electoral observers. Assessing the quality of these elections is the job of election observers.\u201d He called it \u201cvery important that the people wait calmly, that all sides avoid any violence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Few international observers were present for Tanzania\u2019s election, however, with some like the European Union not invited, unlike in previous years.<\/p>\n
The East African nation\u2019s electoral commission has denied allegations of voting irregularities in one of Africa\u2019s most populous countries and fastest-growing economies.<\/p>\n
Final election results could be announced Friday.<\/p>\n
The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party, in power since independence in 1961, won 51 of the 52 parliament seats for which counting had been completed. The CHADEMA opposition party chair, Freeman Mbowe, lost his seat, as did Kabwe of ACT Wazalendo.<\/p>\n
Some Magufuli critics have expressed concerns that if the ruling party wins two-thirds of parliament seats, the president might try to change the constitution to extend the presidency\u2019s two-term limit.<\/p>\n
The election turnout appeared to be below 50%, according to the early figures. Some 29 million people registered to vote.<\/p>\n
Magufuli has been widely criticized for repressive measures against dissenting voices, including a ban on opposition political gatherings in 2016 and the targeting of media outlets. Opposition figures ahead of the vote were arrested, blocked from traveling to rallies or even disqualified.<\/p>\n
\u201cTanzania championed freedoms and the independence of the continent, including leading the formation of the African Union … many people look at Tanzania for a sense of prestige and pride,\u201d Deprose Muchena with Human Rights Watch told a briefing Thursday. \u201cToday, all those ideals are being contested.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said Tanzania instead was joining the ranks of countries like Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n
Tanzania Elections Watch, a regional group of eminent persons, expressed concerns about the credibility and conduct of the election, noting deadly violence on the eve of the vote in Zanzibar, a massive disruption in internet and text messaging services and the reported arrests of other candidates on election day.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, in Tanzania the announcement made by the National Electoral Commission is final,\u201d the group\u2019s co-chair Frederick Ssempebwa told a briefing, as results cannot be challenged in court. \u201cThere is no avenue for the aggrieved parties to air their views.\u201d<\/p>\n
The declaration of results could trigger a wave of instability, Ssempebwa said.<\/p>\n
Tanzanian lawyer and Magufuli critic Fatma Karume, whose recent suspension from practicing law caused an outcry among legal experts, tweeted that Thursday was the president\u2019s birthday. \u201cHe is going to get the present he has always wanted: No opposition in #Tanzania,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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