🔗 Share this article Roughly 700 Reportedly Lose Their Lives in Tanzanian Poll Uprisings, Rival States Per the main opposition group, roughly 700 civilians have reportedly died during three days of voting protests in the East African nation. Clashes Erupts on Voting Day Protests erupted on election day over allegations that demonstrators called the stifling of the rival camp after the removal of major hopefuls from the election contest. Death Figures Claimed A opposition representative announced that hundreds of civilians had been lost their lives since the demonstrations began. "As we speak, the fatality count in the port city is around 350 and for another city it is over 200. Combined with figures from elsewhere around the country, the final number is about 700," he said. He mentioned that the number could be even larger because fatalities may be occurring during a night-time lockdown that was enforced from election day. Further Estimates An official insider supposedly mentioned there had been accounts of over 500 deaths, "maybe 700-800 in the entire nation." The human rights organization reported it had obtained reports that a minimum of 100 people had been lost their lives. Rival groups claimed their estimates had been compiled by a network of party members going to clinics and medical centers and "tallying dead bodies." Appeals for Action Rival officials urged the authorities to "stop harming our activists" and demanded a interim administration to pave the way for free and fair elections. "End police brutality. Respect the voice of the citizens which is democratic rights," the official said. Authorities Reaction Officials responded by enforcing a lockdown. Internet disruption were also observed, with global watchdogs reporting it was nationwide. On Thursday, the military leader criticized the clashes and referred to the activists "offenders". He said security forces would try to manage the unrest. Global Reaction The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed it was "worried" by the fatalities and harm in the unrest, mentioning it had received accounts that a minimum of 10 individuals had been lost their lives by authorities. The organization stated it had collected credible accounts of casualties in Dar es Salaam, in Shinyanga and an eastern area, with law enforcement discharging gunfire and chemical irritants to disperse demonstrators. Legal Perspective A civil rights lawyer claimed it was "unreasonable" for authorities to employ violence, stating that the country's president "should refrain from using the police against the civilians." "The president should pay attention to the public. The feeling of the country is that there was no fair vote … The people cannot choose only one option," the advocate said.