By US cites allegations of fraud in elections
The US embassy in Tanzania on Friday in a statement urged authorities to work with all stakeholders to fully and immediately address the concerns in a transparent manner.
Led by the US ambassador to TZ Donald Wright the authorities said “…in order to restore trust, heal divisions and reinforce respect for the rule of law and good governance,”
The legislator added, “We call on all parties to refrain from violence and inciteful rhetoric over the coming days and urge authorities to respect the right of Tanzanians to peacefully protest and express themselves.”
The U.S. Embassy in Tanzania said there had been “credible allegations of significant election-related fraud and intimidation” in Wednesday’s poll in which voters were electing a president and lawmakers.
The vote was marred by allegations of arrests of candidates and protesters, restrictions on agents of political parties to access polling stations, multiple voting, pre-ticking of ballots, and widespread blocking of social media, the U.S. Embassy said.
In a tweet, Wright said “Detaining opposition leaders is not the act of a government confident in its electoral victory, “…”Maalim Seif and his colleagues should be released immediately.”
Tundu Lissu, the main challenger to incumbent President John Magufuli said the election results expected within a week could not be trusted.
He added, “The results should not be recognized by any country in the world and should not be recognized by the African Union and the Commonwealth,”. He urged the world to take action against “those who perpetrated this travesty”.
While campaigning, Magufuli pledged to boost growth in East Africa’s third-largest economy with infrastructure projects kick-started in his first term.
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