Opposition criticizes the election process in Tanzania

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Acting President John Magufuli casting his vote

Photo: ANTHONY SIAME / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock

According to the opposition, there were "far-reaching irregularities" in the presidential and parliamentary elections in Tanzania.

Party's election workers were prevented from reaching polling stations in several places, opposition leader and challenger Tundu Lissu from the Chadema party tweeted on Wednesday.

Party spokesman Tumaini Makene said there were also reports of falsified ballot boxes.

"No one in the right mind will call this choice free and fair."

In the vote, Lissu challenged President John Magufuli, who has been increasingly authoritarian since 2015.

The elections on Wednesday were largely peaceful.

However, there had been some preliminary violence and the situation remained very tense.

On Wednesday night, "heavily armed gangsters" robbed a hotel and kidnapped two security guards, the chairman of the opposition Chadema party and owner of the hotel, Freeman Mbowe, tweeted.

He blamed the local district commissioner.

Previously, according to an opposition party, five people had been killed by security forces in the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar.

The police denied this.

Several people reported problems accessing social media and the internet on election day.

Twitter itself tweeted on Tuesday that the short message service had been "blocked and throttled somewhat" before the election.

Amnesty International had previously criticized the government for setting up an "arsenal of laws" to "suppress all forms of dissent" and against freedom of expression and assembly in the run-up to the elections.

Politicians have been arrested, media houses have been closed or suspended and NGOs have been made more difficult by numerous regulations.

The "bulldozer"

President Magufuli of the CCM party is running for a second term.

After his vote, he warned that the elections should be "peaceful".

The head of state, also known as "Bulldozer", who has been in office since 2015, polarizes: Proponents support Magufuli, among other things, because of his strong and uncompromising leadership style, promises to fight corruption and large infrastructure projects.

Critics and human rights activists, on the other hand, condemn the increasing restrictions on freedom of the press and freedom of expression as well as his handling of the corona pandemic.

Tanzania has not officially announced any corona cases since May.

Among other things, Magufuli suggested praying against the coronavirus.

Magufuli's challenger Lissu survived an assassination attempt three years ago in which he was shot multiple times.

He is one of the president's harshest critics and has been arrested eight times since Magufuli took office.

Lissu is very popular with the population, but the opposition is fragmented, which reduces his chances.

A total of 15 candidates apply for the office of president.

The former German colony in East Africa with around 58 million inhabitants is actually considered a stable country.

It is developed for tourism and is best known for safari trips in the Serengeti and for climbing Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain.

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ire / dpa