Protests have erupted in major towns across Tanzania, with opposition supporters calling Wednesday’s presidential and legislative elections a fraud, according to the BBC on Thursday.
Hundreds of demonstrators also entered Kenyan territory, barricading roads, setting bonfires, and ripping down posters of President Samia Hassan along the way.
Kenyan police reported two persons died while fleeing running skirmishes with Tanzanian police.
Protesters accuse the government of subverting democracy because the major opposition leader is in jail and another opposition figure was disqualified from the election, increasing Samia’s prospects of victory.
According to the BBC, resentment rose on Thursday after the election commission began publishing results, which showed Samia receiving nearly 95% of the vote in southwestern Mbea province.
She has also seized the lead in a number of mainland and Zanzibar constituencies.
European Union legislators describe the election as a “fraud” that has been “unfolding for months.”
The election day was marked by skirmishes between opposition supporters and police.
A day later, Tanzanian military head Gen. Jacob Mkunda accused “bad characters who wish ill for this country” of “damage to property and people” during the vote.
Gunfire was recorded in the northern city of Mwanza, while skirmishes erupted in the capital, Dodoma, and the main metropolis, Dar es Salaam, which is well guarded with major roads closed.
Kenya has cautioned its people not to participate in protests in the border town of Namanga, where businesses have been halted.
Tanzanian police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators who had engaged in running battles for most of the day during the protests.
According to the US Embassy in Tanzania, numerous major highways remained closed on Thursday, including the road to Dar es Salaam’s international airport.
An eyewitness told the BBC that he witnessed hundreds of demonstrators flooding into Mwanza, Tanzania’s largest city after Dar es Salaam.
“After barely 10 minutes, we started hearing gunfire and tear gas explosions,” he said.
“We see some injured people being evacuated towards our way.”
The administration has ordered public staff to work from home until Friday as tensions rise.
Amnesty International said reports that a civilian and a police officer were murdered in skirmishes on Wednesday were “deeply disturbing.”
A nighttime curfew was imposed in Dar es Salaam, with sources informing the BBC that the city’s Muhimbili Hospital had experienced an influx of injured patients.
Internet connectivity remains badly hampered across the country, which Amnesty warns might exacerbate the situation. It urged the government to provide unlimited access to information.
Meanwhile, protesters are reportedly using Zello, a walkie-talkie software, to organize their next movements.
President Samia is largely likely to win a second term after opposition candidates were prevented from running. The poll is also expected to be a landslide for her party, which has never lost an election since independence.
The primary opposition leader, Tundu Lissu, is imprisoned on treason charges that he rejects, and his party boycotted the ballot.
Sixteen fringe parties, none of which have previously received significant public support, were permitted to compete against Samia.
The only other major competitor, Luhaga Mpina of the ACT-Wazalendo party, was disqualified for legal reasons.
Samia became Tanzania’s first female president in 2021, after President John Magufuli, who died in office.
She was initially praised for alleviating political repression under her predecessor, but the political space has subsequently shrunk, with her government accused of targeting critics with arrests and a wave of abductions.
