As FACT reported on Monday, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in for a second term.
Opposition leaders and civil rights activists have called the situation in the country "the worst political crisis since independence in 1961"
“Our responsibility today is to build a better present than yesterday“, Hassan said in his inauguration address, which was broadcast on state television from a fortified military base, not the standard venue of a public stadium.
“I ask you to continue to defend our values of unity and cooperation.“, she said, as quoted by Foreignpolicy.com
Her call for unity comes just days after thousands of Tanzanians took to the streets across the country, especially in Dar es Salaam, the country's largest city, to protest "against the rigged presidential election".
Official figures show that Hassan won nearly 98 percent of the vote last week, and the government says the election was fair and transparent. But critics have condemned the exclusion of Hassan's two biggest opponents. Tanzania’s main opposition party, Chadema, was banned from voting for refusing to sign a code of conduct, and its leader was arrested in April on controversial treason charges.
“In most areas, voters were unable to express their democratic will,” election observers from the Southern African Development Community said on Monday. They said they witnessed situations at some polling stations that “created the appearance of ballot stuffing.”
Such actions sparked mass anti-government protests that turned violent, with demonstrators setting fire to government buildings, attacking police stations and vandalizing polling stations. Police responded with gunfire and tear gas, and the government shut down the internet, imposed a curfew in Dar es Salaam and deployed troops.
„Това е третият път за по-малко от година, в който танзанийските власти прибягват до блокада на интернет, за да заглушат несъгласните гласове“, написа Amnesty International в понеделник.
Най-малко 10 души са били убити в хаоса, според официални доклади, но опозицията твърди, че броят на жертвите всъщност е стотици.
“I cannot negotiate with dictator Samia“, said Chadema leader Tundu Lisu. “I begged her not to kill people, and she turned a blind eye. Now she is fighting Tanzanians, not Chadema.“ Hassan's government has dismissed the death toll as “greatly exaggerated“.
Hasan came to power in 2021 after her predecessor, John Magufuli, died of illness. She is the first female president of Tanzania and one of only two female heads of state in Africa. Under Hassan's rule, human rights groups have documented extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, torture, rape, disappearances, and other restrictions on freedom.
„След като Хасан замени президента Джон Магуфули след внезапната му смърт през март 2021 г., много анализатори смятаха, че нейният мандат ще отбележи разрив с неговия авторитарен режим“, написа Носмот Гбадамос в Africa Brief на FP миналата седмица. „Но сега някои анализатори и критици смятат Хасан за по-лоша от автократа, когото тя замени.“
The experience has made foreign leaders wary of endorsing the results of Tanzania's election. The African Union congratulated Hassan on her victory over the weekend but urged her administration to respect "fundamental rights and freedoms." Members of the European Parliament took a harsher tone: "What should have been a celebration of democracy instead unfolded in an atmosphere of repression, intimidation and fear. These elections cannot be considered free and fair."