Tanzania Opposition Loses Key Seats In Vote Marred By Fraud Claim

COUNTING was taking place across Tanzania and its semi-autonomous archipelago Zanzibar – which also elects its own president and lawmakers – after the opposition reported ballot box stuffing and their party agents thrown out of polling stations.

As results trickled out on state TV, opposition Chadema lawmaker and chairman Freeman Mbowe lost his long-held seat at Hai in the Kilimanjaro region, one of several lost by the opposition.

“We can’t talk about elections. It is violence. There were several deplorable incidents across the country,” Mbowe told AFP news agency on Wednesday.

Mbowe, who was brutally assaulted in what he said was a politically-motivated attack in June, tweeted that his life was “in danger” on the eve of the election, accusing police of raiding his hotel.

There are 264 parliamentary seats up for grabs in the election.

The NEC director of elections, Wilson Charles Mahera, said they would shortly begin releasing