Tanzania’s leader says election violence could hurt access to international funding

DODOMA, Tanzania (AP) — Tanzania’s president on Tuesday said her government may lose access to the international funding that largely keeps the nation afloat after the worst election violence in the country’s history.

“We have to look for funds internally using our God-given resources,” President Samia Suluhu Hassan said.

The East African nation’s Oct. 29 elections were marked by three days of protests during which the opposition asserts that more than 2,000 people died. Hundreds of others were arrested and charged with treason. The president later asked for some to be released.

Hassan was declared the winner with over 97% of the vote after competitors from the two main opposition parties were barred from running.

On Monday, she announced her new cabinet, which includes her daughter and son-in-law. On Tuesday, Hassan urged it to find local money to fund development projects.

“We mostly rely on international funding, but what happened here may reduce our access to loans compared to how we were accessing funds during our first term,” she said.

During the violence, youth vandalized polling stations, police stations and bus terminals and set fire to vehicles, protesting the limited choices in the election. The military was deployed to address the unrest.

Calm largely returned after Hassan was sworn in and promised to restore peace.

A delegation from the Commonwealth, led by Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera, will meet with government officials, representatives of political parties and civil society and others in Tanzania, which had been largely peaceful for decades despite allegations by rights groups and opposition figures of repression.