The United States Embassy in Tanzania has raised doubts in the ongoing Tanzanian elections.
In a statement, the Embassy said there were irregularities witnessed in the election including the arrest of the country’s opposition party leader and restrictions on representatives of political parties’ ability to access polling stations.
“While Tanzanian voters were largely allowed to exercise their rights in elections yesterday that were mostly peaceful across the country, we note that opposition parties, civil society groups, and election observers have made credible allegations of significant election-related fraud and intimidation,” read the statement in part.
Other irregularities mentioned by the Embassy are; repeat voting, pre-filling of ballots, and widespread blocking of social media and other communication platforms.
“These irregularities and the overwhelming margins of victory raise doubts about the credibility of the results announced today, as well as concerns about the Government of Tanzania’s commitment to democratic values,” the statement continued to read.
The Electoral Commission in Tanzania declared John Pombe Magufuli the winner of the elections following a landslide victory.
Magufuli garnered 12,516,252 votes against Tundu Lissu’s 1,933,271 votes.
Tanzania total registered voters, both in mainland and Zanzibar are 22,754, 699.
Out of those, only 15,091,950 voted.
14,830,195 of the votes were valid while 261,755 were rejected.
