Canada, Norway and Britain have called on Tanzania to show restraint after deadly confrontations between security forces and demonstrators erupted across the nation. The three governments issued a joint appeal expressing alarm over credible accounts of numerous deaths and serious injuries resulting from government actions against protesters who took to the streets on Oct. 29, one day after polling concluded.
Opposition groups assert that more than 100 people died and hundreds sustained injuries during confrontations with police and military personnel in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mwanza and Zanzibar. Internet blackouts and media limitations have prevented independent confirmation of casualty figures. Human rights organizations have criticized authorities for deploying disproportionate force and called for impartial inquiries into the bloodshed.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan's Chama cha Mapinduzi party claimed victory with over 97 percent of the votes, while opposition parties CHADEMA and ACT-Wazalendo dismissed the outcome as fraudulent. The statement from Western powers also highlighted concerns about intimidation of opposition politicians, reporters and activists before the election. The crisis represents Tanzania's most violent political turmoil in recent memory and could damage the country's reputation as a stable democracy.
Opposition groups assert that more than 100 people died and hundreds sustained injuries during confrontations with police and military personnel in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mwanza and Zanzibar. Internet blackouts and media limitations have prevented independent confirmation of casualty figures. Human rights organizations have criticized authorities for deploying disproportionate force and called for impartial inquiries into the bloodshed.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan's Chama cha Mapinduzi party claimed victory with over 97 percent of the votes, while opposition parties CHADEMA and ACT-Wazalendo dismissed the outcome as fraudulent. The statement from Western powers also highlighted concerns about intimidation of opposition politicians, reporters and activists before the election. The crisis represents Tanzania's most violent political turmoil in recent memory and could damage the country's reputation as a stable democracy.
