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Tanzania’s polling commission announced on Friday it would suspend opposition leader Tundu Lissu’s campaign for seven days over “seditious language” as the race intensifies ahead of general elections this month.
Lissu, who recently returned from three years in Belgium recovering from an assassination attempt in 2017 in which he was shot 16, is President John Magufuli’s main rival and has drawn massive crowds to his demonstrations.
The electoral body said in a statement that its ethics committee found that Lissu had made seditious statements and spread lies while campaigning, after it accused Magufuli of plotting to rig the elections.
“The committee agreed that Lissu violated ethics by using seditious language and issued unconfirmed accusations that go against electoral laws,” the statement read.
“Therefore, we suspend Tundu Lissu from campaigning for seven days starting on October 3, 2020. He will not be allowed to campaign until after punishment.”
The committee said it wrote a letter to the opposition Chadema party summoning Lissu after the claims, but the party had demanded that the letter be sent directly to Lissu.
Lissu himself denied having had a chance to defend himself and vowed to continue campaigning.
“I was never served with any ethics charges or given the opportunity to present a written defense of the charges,” Lissu posted on Twitter.
“This orchestrated ‘tough justice’ is further evidence of a discredited NEC (national electoral commission) and a compromised electoral system. The NEC’s decision is totally unacceptable. I will not be intimidated or silenced. The campaign will continue on Sunday as scheduled. “. . “
The opposition argues that the electoral commission, whose members are appointed by the president, is not independent and has repeatedly called for reforms.
Magufuli was elected in 2015 as a sensible man of the people, fighting corruption, yet he has been accused of falling into authoritarianism and not tolerating dissent.
During his first term, numerous newspapers and radios were shut down, journalists were arrested for insulting the president, and opposition leaders were killed and detained.
Earlier this year, the United States accused Tanzania of seeking “to suppress democratic norms” before the elections.
On Monday, the police fired tear gas at a convoy carrying Lissu, when it tried to stop and address people at an unscheduled campaign stop.
