Tanzania holds election marred by accusations of fraud

Tanzanians voted Wednesday in an election overshadowed by opposition complaints of irregularities such as ballot-box stuffing, as President John Magufuli, who is accused of stifling democracy, seeks a second term in office.

Long deemed a haven of stability in East Africa, observers say Tanzania is sliding into autocracy under Magufuli and his Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, which has been in power since 1961.

After what rights groups have slammed as a sustained crackdown on political competition, the opposition had already voiced concern about the fairness of the election ahead of polling, and on Wednesday both parties on mainland Tanzania and semi-autonomous Zanzibar cried foul.

"Voting reports indicate widespread irregularities in the form of preventing our polling agents from accessing polling stations," presidential candidate Tundu Lissu of the Chadema party said on Twitter.

"If this continues, mass democratic action will be the only option to protect the integrity of the election."

Chadema secretary general John Mnyika told AFP that their lawmaker in the Kawe district of Dar es Salaam, Halima Mdee, was briefly arrested after protesting the discovery of ballot boxes stuffed with "pre-marked votes" in favour of the ruling CCM.

Map of Tanzania. By Alain BOMMENEL (AFP)

In volatile Zanzibar, where the opposition ACT-Wazalendo said 10 people were killed in the run-up to the vote, party official Muhene Said Rashid showed journalists piles of stamped ballots with tick marks next to Magufuli's name which he said had been seized from CCM "zealots".

He said party agents had been kicked out of some polling stations and "we expect they will be kicked out during counting", as polling stations began closing across the country at 4:00 pm (1300 GMT).

"We are finalising together with the political party agents and will start counting immediately," polling clerk Phinias Masiga told AFP in Dodoma after voting ended.

The president of Tanzania's electoral commission, Semistocles Kaijage, said they had not yet received complaints on the incidents of ballot stuffing.

Armoured personnel carriers

Voting in Zanzibar, which elects its own president and lawmakers, as well as the Tanzanian president, was largely peaceful after police and security fired tear gas and live rounds and arrested scores on Monday night and Tuesday.

Opposition leader Seif Sharif Hamad votes on Zanzibar. By Patrick Meinhardt (AFP)

The election took place under heavy security and as polls closed AFP reporters saw two armoured personnel carriers loaded with soldiers driving through the streets of the capital.

"This election is a total mess, there is no election here," Jiba Shaame Ali, 32, told AFP at a polling station in the Mtoni area.

Opposition leader Seif Sharif Hamad has accused the ruling party of trying to steal every vote since multi-party democracy was introduced in 1995. Foreign observers have often agreed.

"I feel proud that I have managed to vote this year," said Hamad after casting his ballot and slamming the election as a "farce" following his detention for several hours Tuesday.

Social media blocked

The election, for which around 29 million people are registered to vote, is taking place largely without external monitors and most international media have not gained accreditation to cover voting on the mainland.

Major social media networks have been blocked and are 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."

Zanzibar held an early vote for security forces Tuesday which prompted violence. By Patrick Meinhardt (AFP)

Magufuli, whose campaign against corruption and wasteful spending initially drew him praise, voted in Dodoma, urging people to turn out to vote.

"We also need to maintain our peace and I always say there is life after elections," he declared in the Tanzanian capital.

Despite his initial popularity, Magufuli's flouting of due process and intolerance of dissent has sparked alarm among rights groups and foreign allies.

On mainland Tanzania, Lissu, 52, of the Chadema opposition party is Magufuli's greatest challenger.

He returned to the country in July after three years abroad recovering from 16 bullet wounds sustained in what he believes was a politically-motivated assassination attempt.

Lissu's return has reinvigorated an opposition demoralised by arrests, attacks and a ban on rallies outside of election time.

The election campaign has taken place with little regard for the coronavirus pandemic.

Tanzania stopped giving out official data on infections in April and Magufuli has declared the country Covid-free, which he attributes to the power of prayer.

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