Nearly 700 people killed in Tanzania crackdown on post-presidential election protests (video)
Tanzania’s opposition party “Chadema” (Chadema) said that hundreds of people had died in the three days of protests that erupted after the presidential election. This was reported by BBC.
Party spokesman John Kitoka, whose party was disqualified from the elections and whose leader Tundu Lissu was arrested on charges of treason, said that about 700 deaths had been recorded since October 29.
Tanzania’s Foreign Minister Mahmud Thabit Kombo, commenting on the mass protests and the dispersal of demonstrations, said that the opposition’s figures were “greatly exaggerated” and denied the facts of excessive use of force by law enforcement officers. At the same time, the government has not released official figures on the number of deaths and has not responded to journalists’ inquiries. A BBC source in Tanzanian diplomatic circles reported that there is confirmation of the death of at least 500 people.
As a reminder, on October 29, general elections for the president, parliament and district councilors were held in Tanzania. Mass protests began on the same day. Citizens accused the authorities of undermining democracy and persecuting the opposition – the leader of “Chadema” Tundu Lissu is in prison, and the representative of the ACT-Wazalendo party Luhaga Mpina was removed from participating in the elections due to “legal formalities”.
Other opposition figures have been killed or disappeared. This has significantly increased the chances of the incumbent president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, winning. Only representatives of little-known political parties were allowed to participate in the elections.
Tensions among the population increased after the announcement of the first results of the vote – according to the results of the counting of 8 out of 272 electoral districts, Samia Suluhu Hassan received 96.99% of the votes and was confidently leading. During the dispersal of the protests, the police used tear gas and firearms. The country has imposed a curfew and temporarily restricted access to the Internet.
On October 31, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called on Ukrainians in Tanzania to avoid mass gatherings, stay out of the streets if possible, and follow the instructions of the local police.
