Tanzania charges dozens with treason over violence linked to disputed election

Question

In Tanzania, the police arrested 76 people and charged them with treason after violence happened during the October 29 election. The Tanzanian government claim these people tried to stop the election and scare leaders in Dar es Salaam, the biggest city. Although, when the police tried to intervene with these protests, many people were hurt and some were killed.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan won almost all the votes, even though other politicians were not allowed to run for president too. Many human rights groups said police arrested people and some went missing or were killed, the African Union said the election was not free or fair, and yet the opposition said more than 1,000 people died and that the government tried to hide what really happened.

Answer 1

After putting more research into this topic, I have found this claim to be true. On Friday, November 7th, about 76 people were arrested as suspects accused of “intending to obstruct the October 29 election” (Seattle Times). Tanzania is currently fighting against the violence that was caused after and during the election, as many people claim the election was not fair or free. Chadema, Tanzania’s leading opposition party, has claimed that over a thousand people were killed during opposition protests and that security was trying to hide the severity of the situation and the number of deaths. President Samia Suluhu Hassan supposedly took more than 97% of the vote against 16 other candidates. This week, the African Union stated that the election "did not comply with AU principles, normative frameworks, and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections" (NBC News). Observers have claimed that they witnessed ballot stuffing during the election under Hassan’s rule. There have been over 200 disappearances and reports of media repression. As of now, the AU doesn’t seem to be doing anything to cause a re-election, and Hassan is still the acting president.

Sources:

Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/tanzania-charges-dozens-with-treason-over-violence-linked-to-disputed-election/

NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/world/africa/tanzania-charges-hundreds-treason-arrest-warrants-opposition-rcna242717

ABC News: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/tanzania-charges-hundreds-treason-issues-arrest-warrants-opposition-127327758