The outgoing head of state Samia Suluhu Hassan was proclaimed winner of the presidential election in Tanzania on Saturday with nearly 98% of the votes, after three days of electoral violence which left hundreds dead according to the opposition, which describes the election as a “parody of democracy”.
The East African country descended into violence on Wednesday, the day of presidential and legislative elections which took place without opposition, with the head of state’s two main opponents having either been imprisoned or disqualified.
Ms. Hassan won more than 97.66% of the votes, or 31.9 million votes out of 32.7 million recorded, according to the electoral commission, with a participation rate estimated at nearly 87%, contrasting with the low turnout at polling stations noted by AFP and other observers.
“It’s impossible“, told AFP a spokesperson for the main opposition party, Chadema, John Kitoka. “ No one went to the polls to vote, it’s just ridiculous. »
Chadema was excluded from the elections and had called for a boycott of the vote. Its leader Tundu Lissu, arrested in April, is on trial for treason, a charge punishable by death.
Calling Ms. Hassan’s landslide victory a “parody of democracy,” Mr. Kitoka said party observers reported that “at least 800 people” had been killed by security forces during anti-government protests this week.
The African Union, in a statement, congratulated the president on her success but said it “deeply regrets the lives lost”.
On election day, AFP heard heavy gunfire as hundreds of people protested, including burning down a police station. The protest spread across the country and continued until Friday. The internet is still cut in this country of 68 million inhabitants.
Samia Suluhu Hassan was promoted to head of Tanzania following the death of her predecessor John Magufuli in 2021. Initially hailed for having relaxed the restrictions introduced by her predecessor, she was then accused of leading a severe repression against her detractors, particularly ahead of the election.
While she had not yet spoken out on the violence, the outgoing president declared on Saturday that her government “strongly condemns” the demonstrations.
“We thank the security forces for ensuring that the violence did not prevent the vote (…) There is nothing patriotic about these acts,” she added during a ceremony broadcast on state television.
“Hundreds dead”
On Friday, Mr. Kitoka estimated to AFP that the electoral violence left “around 700 dead”, based on information collected by members who toured the country’s hospitals.
A report described as “rather credible” by a diplomatic source, who reported “hundreds of deaths”. A security source interviewed by AFP received similar information but verification of the information remains difficult because an internet shutdown is still in effect on Saturday.
These reports were denied by the authorities.
« There was no excessive use of force“, Tanzanian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo reacted on Friday on the Al-Jazeera channel, reporting “pockets of violence” in the country. “ I didn’t see these 700 dead« .
Several hospitals and health centers refused to answer AFP’s questions.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called in a statement on Friday for a “ thorough and impartial investigation into accusations of excessive use of force.”
Perturbations
The violence causes significant disruption. The port of Dar es Salaam, one of the continent’s largest, was closed on Friday, according to information from tracking site Vessel Finder and Dutch shipping company Steinweg.
Stores are running out of food, gas stations have stopped working. One resident said the prices of meat and fish have doubled or even tripled, and public transportation has come to a standstill.
“I have been sleeping at the mosque since Wednesday, when the violence broke out”tells AFP Mohamed Rajab, 52, resident of Dar es Salaam. “ There is no transport. I don’t know when I will return home.«
© Agence France-Presse
