Chadema presidential candidate Edward Lowassa casts his ballot at a
polling station on October 25, 2015 in Zanzibar. The ruling CCM party
has maintained that the election was fair. PHOTO | FILBERT RWEYEMAMU |
AFP
By REUTERS
In Summary
- Opposition claims arrest of supporters were aimed at destroying its capacity to independently verify results.
- Full and final results are not expected until Thursday.
Tanzania's main opposition party said on Tuesday it did not
recognise results announced so far from a weekend presidential and
parliamentary election due to "widespread rigging", after a broadly
peaceful vote that the ruling party said it won.
Tanzania has been one of Africa's most politically stable
nations, ruled for half a century by the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party
despite the CCM president being changed often. But Sunday's vote was
the most hotly contested in CCM's history.
The opposition has often complained about abuses in past votes,
but this challenge carries more weight because Chadema and other major
opposition parties have united in a coalition for the first time,
fielding a single presidential candidate.
Full and final results are not expected until Thursday.
"The ongoing presidential results being announced by the
National Electoral Commission are deeply flawed," Chadema Chairman
Freedom Mbowe said, noting that the party did not recognise the results
being released.
"There is widespread rigging. This election is a shambles," he
told a news conference with leaders from other members of the Ukawa
opposition coalition, which is fielding former Prime Minister Edward
Lowassa as its presidential candidate.
Lowassa did not attend.
Mbowe said 166 opposition supporters had been arrested,
including IT experts who were carrying out the party's own tally of
results. The party previously said 40 had been detained.
Parties in Tanzania send representatives to polling stations and then put together their own tally of results.
"These arrests were aimed at destroying our capacity to independently verify the results," Mbowe said.
The chairman of the National Electoral Commission, Damian
Lubuva, earlier dismissed allegations of any voting abuses. "There is no
favouritism whatsoever," he said. "The results that we are announcing
reflect the will of the people."
The ruling CCM party, which has said it was on track to win the
presidency and retain its big majority in parliament based on initial
results, also said the election was fair.
"Conditions for fair and transparent elections existed," CCM campaign director January Makamba told Reuters.
He noted there had been some challenges in conducting the vote,
leading to some constituencies voting a day late, but he said that did
not change "the direction" of the results.
The CCM's presidential candidate, John Magufuli, is pitted
against Lowassa, a popular figure although he only quit CCM in July
after the ruling party snubbed him as its candidate
The semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar, traditionally a hotspot during elections, has also witnessed tensions again.
The island's opposition Civic United Front declared victory in
the vote on Monday while counting went on. Police fired tear gas to
disperse supporters when they gathered to celebrate.
Zanzibar has a strong opposition and loud Islamist and
separatist voices, although the ruling party has also said it expects to
win overall on the island.
Report by Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala
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