Election protests in Tanzania: Violent clashes have erupted in Tanzania following general elections this week. This saw the main rivals of the incumbent president unable to take part in the vote. The opposition sensationally claimed that around 700 people died in the riots.
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who is seeking a second term, is widely expected to secure an easy victory in the polls. The election was held on Wednesday. This expectation follows the decision of the electoral authorities to exclude the candidates of the two largest opposition parties. Results from 120 of the country’s 272 constituencies currently show Tanzania’s first female leader in the lead with around 97% of the vote.
The main opposition Chadema party said around 700 people had been killed in escalating clashes between protesters and security forces.
“Those who have been injured are in the thousands,” said John Kitoka, Chadema’s director of foreign affairs, according to Bloomberg.
“Many of our supporters are being detained and arrested across the country,” Kitoka added.
Security forces across the East African country have launched a crackdown on protests that first erupted on Wednesday, deploying personnel across the country. Armored cars continue to patrol the streets of the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam this Friday. In addition, limited access to the Internet, which was turned off on voting day, remains.
The Tanzanian army chief noted that crimes had occurred during the protests, including the destruction of both private and public property.
“This is unacceptable,” Tanzania People’s Defense Forces chief Jacob Mukunda said in a televised address on Tanzania Broadcasting Corp. on Thursday night. “We can’t let this keep happening.
While authorities have not released any official death toll, Amnesty International estimates that “around 100 people” died, according to Roland Ebole, the organization’s regional researcher. He added that the figure is currently unverified, Bloomberg reported.
Chadema’s leader, Tundu Lissu, has been held in prison since April on charges of treason, while his deputy, John Heche, is currently in police custody.
Election protests in Tanzania: Protesters unlikely to back down
The protesters are unlikely to back down “until their demands for reform and change are met,” Kitoka.
The United Nations expressed concern about the violence, saying “credible reports” indicated that at least 10 people had been killed. It urged security forces to refrain from using “unnecessary or disproportionate force,” according to an official statement.
The current violence could potentially affect logistics at the city’s vital Indian port, which is crucial to Africa’s two biggest copper producers – Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
