🔗 Share this article

Based on the main rival faction, about 700 people have supposedly perished during a three-day period of poll-related unrest in the East African nation.

Clashes Starts on Voting Day

Protests erupted on election day over claims that activists called the silencing of the rival camp after the removal of key candidates from the presidential ballot.

Casualty Numbers Claimed

An opposition official announced that scores of people had been lost their lives since the demonstrations commenced.

"At present, the number of deaths in Dar es Salaam is around 350 and for Mwanza it is over 200. Combined with numbers from elsewhere across the country, the overall count is approximately 700," he stated.

The spokesperson noted that the number could be much higher because killings might be taking place during a nighttime lockdown that was implemented from election day.

Additional Estimates

• An security source supposedly mentioned there had been information of over 500 deaths, "maybe 700-800 in the nationwide."
• The human rights organization said it had gathered information that at least 100 civilians had been lost their lives.
• Rival groups asserted their numbers had been gathered by a network of party members going to clinics and health centers and "counting dead bodies."

Calls for Intervention

Rival officials demanded the administration to "cease harming our demonstrators" and requested a caretaker administration to facilitate democratic votes.

"Stop police brutality. Respect the will of the citizens which is fair elections," the official said.

Government Response

Officials reacted by enforcing a lockdown. Online restrictions were also observed, with global observers indicating it was nationwide.

On Thursday, the army chief denounced the unrest and called the protesters "lawbreakers". He stated authorities would seek to manage the unrest.

International Reaction

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stated it was "alarmed" by the deaths and injuries in the unrest, noting it had gathered accounts that a minimum of 10 individuals had been lost their lives by law enforcement.

The office reported it had obtained credible accounts of fatalities in the port city, in Shinyanga and an eastern area, with law enforcement firing live ammunition and teargas to break up protesters.

Legal View

A human rights advocate remarked it was "unjustified" for security agencies to employ violence, adding that the nation's leader "must refrain from sending the law enforcement against the civilians."

"She should listen to the people. The feeling of the nation is that there was an unfair process … The people cannot vote for one candidate," the lawyer said.