Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s 98-percent election victory is a “mockery of the democratic process,” the main opposition party, Chadema, said on Saturday.
Speaking to AFP, Chadema spokesman John Kitoka called for the intervention of an independent and credible body to supervise a fresh election.
“That result is a slap in the face of the people, and they are very angry. Very soon, we will announce our response, which may include calling for nationwide protests,” Kitoka declared.
Chadema’s observers in hospitals and health clinics reported that “no fewer than 800 people” were killed by security forces during protests that erupted on election day.
These figures could not be independently verified, as the country has faced a complete internet shutdown and a ban on journalists operating nationwide.
Kitoka dismissed the electoral commission’s claim of an 87-percent voter turnout, describing it as “simply a joke.”
“What happened on 29 October was not an election. Whatever outcome arises from it is illegitimate,” he added.
However, Foreign Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo told Al Jazeera on Friday that the government had “no figures” on any casualties.
“Currently, no excessive force has been used,” Kombo maintained.