Tanzania votes as opposition alleges ‘irregularities’
STONE TOWN - Tanzanian opposition presidential candidate Tundu Lissu yesterday slammed “widespread irregularities” in an election which comes after years of repression under President John Magufuli, who is seeking a second term in office.
Long deemed a haven of stability in East Africa, observers say Tanzania has seen the stifling of democracy and a crackdown on freedom of speech under the 60- year- old Magufuli and his Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, which has been in power since 1961.
Observers expressed serious concerns about the fairness of the election in the run up to voting day, and violence erupted in semiautonomous Zanzibar on the eve of the poll, leaving 10 dead according to the opposition.
“Voting reports indicate widespread irregularities in the form of preventing our polling agents from accessing polling stations,” Lissu said on Twitter, alleging ballot boxes had been stuffed in some locations.
“If this continues, mass democratic action will be the only option to protect the integrity of the election.”
Major social media networks - such as WhatsApp and Twitter - have been blocked across Tanzania, and were only accessible through virtual private networks (VPN).
In a polling station in Dodoma, voter Jackson Daudi said: “I hope voting will go smoothly and the electoral body will be fair to all candidates. I believe justice will prevail.”
And in the northern town of Moshi, near Africa’s highest peak of Kilimanjaro, Nestor Shoo urged the electoral commission to show “impartiality, so that there can be peace”.
In Zanzibar hundreds of men and women formed separate queues from before dawn in Garagara neighbourhood outside the capital Stone Town, where on Tuesday police fired teargas, live rounds and beat up civilians.
Mnao Haji (48) queueing to vote in Garagara, said she hoped the election “will be peaceful” on the archipelago despite a history of contested polls.
“During the clashes with police teargas fell inside my house. I screamed, crying, I was helpless,” she said as heavily armed officers and soldiers looked on.
On Zanzibar, streets already devoid of tourists due to the coronavirus pandemic were deserted after a day which saw police cracking down on residents, while the second island of Pemba where the opposition said nine were killed by police on Monday night was reportedly calm on voting day.
Zanzibar citizens vote for their own president and lawmakers, as well as for the Tanzanian president, and the opposition has accused the ruling party of trying to steal the vote - an accusation it makes at every election. Foreign observers have often agreed.