(Bloomberg) -- Tanzania's main opposition leaders called for protests against the outcome of parliamentary and presidential elections, which they said were rigged to guarantee President John Magufuli and his ruling party wins.
Preliminary election results on Wednesday showed a landslide win for the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi, CCM party, with many opposition figures in Parliament losing their seats. The opposition in the East African nation alleges the Oct. 28 vote was marred by widespread fraud, including ballot stuffing. The ruling party has rejected the allegations.
The National Electoral Commission of Tanzania is releasing results from various constituencies but has not yet announced cumulative figures.
Magufuli, 61, who is seeking re-election for a second term, and opposition presidential candidate Tundu Lissu, 52, are front-runners.
On the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar, the electoral body declared CCM's candidate Hussein Mwinyi winner of the local presidential contest after he got 76.3% of the vote. Mwinyi's rival, Seif Sharif Hamad of the ACT-Wazalendo party, was arrested earlier along other opposition leaders for calling for protests.
“This was not an election according to Tanzanian laws and international best practices,” Lissu told journalists in commercial hub of Dar es Salaam on Thursday, without providing evidence. “We will not recognize the outcome.”
He also urged the international community to denounce the vote and consider targeted sanctions on government officials.
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