Opposition candidate Lissu rejects polls results

Dar es Salaam. Opposition presidential candidate Tundu Lissu has declared Wednesday’s elections in Tanzania “fraudulent” and said his party rejects all its outcome.

Speaking today, October 29, 2020 at his first press conference following the announcement of early results by the National Electoral Commission, Mr Lissu said the elections did not meet the threshold of a credible, free and fair election.

“There was unprecedented levels of fraud and use of force in this election that stole the will of the people to elect the leaders of their choice. What we witnessed on Wednesday defeats even Tanzania’s own laws and regulations that govern elections,” said Mr Lissu from his Tegeta home in Dar es Salaam.

He was flanked by his running mate at the press conference Mr Salim Mwalimu and other Chadema officials. He said they will not recognize the outcome of the election results at all the local government, Member of Parliament and president.

“We reject the results being announced by the polls agency as they are not anchored in law and are a travesty of the will of the people of Tanzania who turned out in large numbers to vote but they have been spit on,” said Lissu.

The Chadema candidate said there was blatant theft and stuffing of the vote in majority of the stations following frustrations of its agents to monitor and take part in the process. He said there was heavy collusion of authorities for a pre-determined outcome.

‘Our call is to appealing to Tanzanians to use democratic means possible to ensure their rights are respected and given now that they have seen how it is not possible to get change through the ballot,” said Lissu who was running for presidency for the first time.

He also appealed to members of the international community to condemn what happened in the elections and ensure Tanzania abided by the international norms and standards. “We have asked our lawyers to write to several international institutions over the elections and hope they will not give a stump of approval of these unacceptable outcome,” said Lissu.     

“I have also directed my personal lawyer Bon Amsterdam to officially write to the International Criminal Court in The Hague to commence a process to investigate the violence and deaths that happened during this elections with a view to instituting action against those responsible,” Lissu said.

The National Electoral Commission and the Zanzibar Electoral Commission have started announcing both Presidential, Parliamentary and civic results which show that the ruling party was headed for a landslide win in all the electoral areas.