AU Observer Mission exposes irregularities in Tanzania’s disputed election

Tanzania’s controversial election that handed President Suluhu her first elected term and also handed the ruling party CCM the majority in Parliament continues to draw criticism over the manner in which they were conducted.

The latest report paints a damning picture of the environment during and after election day, indicating cases of ballot stuffing, internet blackouts, and abductions that compromised the integrity of the elections.

The observers say the election failed to comply with the AU’s principles and standards for democratic elections.

The AU observers noted that there was voter apathy in most polling stations across the country, and even then, the few voters who turned up were allowed to vote without identifying themselves.

The mission also noted that in polling stations where only presidential ballot boxes were set up, there were instances of ballot stuffing, where voters were issued multiple ballots to vote, compromising election integrity.

The mission faulted the Tanzanian government for the internet shutdown and restriction of media freedom during the voting, counting, and tallying of the votes. Indeed, during counting, the mission noted that ballot counts did not tally.

The preliminary report from the AU mission mirrors the scathing one from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which also flagged incidents of stuffed ballots and low voter turnout — factors that contributed to the elections falling short of the requirements of the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.

The AU has also determined that the elections did not comply with AU principles and international obligations and standards for democratic elections.

Similar sentiments have also been echoed by the Human Rights Defenders of Tanzania and the Tanganyika Law Society, who pointed out the killing of civilians, destruction of property, internet shutdown, arrests, and beatings as some of the issues that characterised the elections, and called for an immediate stop to police brutality and arbitrary arrests.