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Based on the chief rival party, around 700 citizens have purportedly been killed during three days of poll-related unrest in Tanzania.

Clashes Begins on Voting Day

Protests erupted on Wednesday over what activists described as the silencing of the rival camp after the exclusion of major contenders from the presidential race.

Casualty Numbers Stated

An rival spokesperson claimed that numerous of people had been slain since the unrest began.

"As we speak, the number of deaths in the port city is nearly 350 and for another city it is over 200. Combined with figures from other regions around the nation, the final figure is approximately 700," the official stated.

He noted that the death count could be even larger because deaths may be occurring during a night-time curfew that was implemented from election day.

Further Accounts

• An official source allegedly stated there had been information of over 500 deaths, "maybe 700-800 in the entire nation."
• The human rights organization stated it had received reports that at least 100 individuals had been killed.
• Rival groups stated their estimates had been collected by a team of activists visiting medical facilities and health clinics and "tallying the deceased."

Calls for Change

Rival officials called for the government to "halt killing our protesters" and called for a transitional administration to pave the way for democratic votes.

"Halt excessive force. Respect the will of the citizens which is electoral justice," the official said.

Authorities Reaction

The government responded by implementing a restriction. Web outages were also noted, with global watchdogs indicating it was countrywide.

On Thursday, the army chief criticized the violence and called the protesters "offenders". The official said law enforcement would seek to contain the crisis.

International Reaction

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed it was "deeply concerned" by the casualties in the protests, mentioning it had received reports that at least 10 people had been slain by authorities.

The organization mentioned it had collected credible reports of casualties in the port city, in Shinyanga and an eastern area, with officials using real bullets and teargas to break up demonstrators.

Expert Perspective

An human rights attorney claimed it was "unacceptable" for authorities to resort to arms, stating that the country's leader "should avoid deploying the law enforcement against the people."

"The president must pay attention to the public. The feeling of the country is that there was an unfair process … We cannot vote for a single contender," the advocate stated.