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Post-election repression in Tanzania as President Suluhu “wins” with 97.66%

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Original article by Nicholas Mwangi republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan is sworn in after re-election in Tanzania. Photo: X

Tanzania’s disputed elections, already clouded by credibility concerns, ended with President Samia Suluhu declared the winner. Authorities have intensified arrests and crackdowns, while opposition leaders claim that thousands were killed during post-election protests.

The October 29, 2025, presidential elections in Tanzania plunged the country into its deepest political crisis in decades. President Samia Suluhu Hassan was declared the winner with an overwhelming 97.66% of the vote, a result widely denounced as fraudulent and surrounded by an atmosphere of repression, violence, and systematic silencing of dissent.

In the months leading up to the polls, opposition parties were systematically harassed. Rallies were disrupted, candidates were denied registration, and media outlets critical of the government faced suspension. The banning of CHADEMA leader Tundu Lissu from contesting and the arrest of dozens of party members prefigured an electoral process tightly controlled by the state apparatus.

In dialogue with Peoples Dispatch, Muhemsi says, this time round, the popular dissatisfaction was due to the issue of forced disappearances, abductions, as well as the “unfair” detention of some key opposition party leaders, especially Tundu Antipas Lissu, who is being charged with treason. His trial has been going on for months.

A nation under siege

What followed the disputed poll was a wave of protests in Tanzania’s recent history. Demonstrations erupted across major cities, from Dar es Salaam to Arusha and Mwanza, as citizens rejected the results. The government’s response was brutal. Under a nationwide curfew and a total internet shutdown, security forces unleashed a wave of violence against protestors. The opposition claims that thousands were killed or have disappeared, though independent verification remains impossible. Families continue to search for missing relatives, and many speak of a climate of fear and enforced disappearance.

Muhemsi described how Tanzanians have long been told that “no one would dare take to the streets”. The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM; “Party of the Revolution”), he said, has relied on the myth of Tanzania being an “Island of Peace” to suppress dissent. “Religious leaders were co-opted into spreading this ‘peace’ gospel, many of their events were literally organized if not funded by the state.”

Opposition leaders detained

In the aftermath, the government has intensified its repression. Hundreds of youth activists have been charged, and opposition leaders continue to face persecution. CHADEMA’s deputy secretary-general, Amani Golugwa, was arrested on November 8 and charged with treason, joining his party leader Tundu Lissu, who was barred from participating in the election and remains imprisoned. Other activists, youths, and human rights defenders have been detained under vague accusations of incitement and subversion.

The president’s inauguration, held behind closed doors, only deepened public outrage at a process that lacks legitimacy. A ceremony, symbolic of a government increasingly disconnected from its people.

Regional and continental reactions

Initially, regional and international reactions followed the pattern of complicity and silence that has long accompanied authoritarian consolidation in Africa. The African Union (AU) was quick to congratulate President Suluhu on her victory, a move that provoked widespread condemnation across the continent. In a reversal, the AU later, after sustained criticism, acknowledged that the elections “had not met the threshold of free and fair democratic values.”

In a statement, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights expressed “deep concern” over the situation, citing grave violations of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which Tanzania ratified in 1984. The Commission condemned reports of mass killings, arbitrary arrests, and the use of live ammunition against peaceful demonstrators, urging the government to “de-escalate the prevailing situation” and investigate the alleged atrocities.

The Commission further called on Tanzania to sign and ratify the “African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance”, emphasizing the need for regular, transparent, and impartial elections – an implicit rebuke of the current regime’s conduct.

Similarly, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), through its Electoral Observation Mission, issued a preliminary report on November 3 stating that the poll fell short of democratic standards. The mission detailed harassment of its own observers, including an incident in Tanga, where security officers seized passports, interrogated monitors, and deleted photographs.

The ongoing repression not only erodes Tanzania’s internal democratic fabric but also threatens to destabilize the wider East African region, where social unrest and economic inequality have become combustible forces.

But despite these condemnations, no tangible measures have followed. The crisis in Tanzania exposes the limits of regional institutions, whose dependence on member states makes them reluctant to call out offending regimes. In effect, regional diplomacy has become the velvet glove around the iron fist of repression, completely detached from the aspirations of the majority of African people.

Authoritarianism, austerity, repression, and false narratives: the crisis in Ecuador

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Original article by Pilar Troya Fernández republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa in January 2025. Photo: Presidencia Ecuador

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has not only deepened the crisis in the country, but is also attempting to change the country’s institutions and laws through loopholes and force.

Daniel Noboa’s government in Ecuador is characterized by the implementation of neoliberal austerity policies dictated by the IMF, the violent repression of social protests, and a series of legal reforms aimed at increasing state authoritarianism, and aligning the country with US foreign policy. All this is taking place amid an unprecedented security crisis.

The security crisis

During the first half of 2025, Ecuador recorded 4,619 homicides, setting a new historical record and representing a 47% increase over the same period in 2024. This figure makes the country the most violent on the continent. No one knows what the Phoenix Plan, implemented by the Noboa government since 2024, consists of, and it has not produced positive results. On the contrary, citizen insecurity has worsened. The constant states of emergency that have militarized the country have also failed to reverse the situation.

Austerity policies

Re-elected in April 2025, Daniel Noboa has implemented a far-right program aligned with the demands of the IMF. In June, he dismissed 5,000 civil servants and merged four ministries. In the most serious case, environmental responsibilities were transferred to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Hydrocarbons, highlighting the government’s extractivist orientation. These measures represent the path toward the minimal state advocated by neoliberalism and respond to the conditions of the latest IMF loan.

On September 12, Noboa withdrew the subsidy on diesel, whose price rose from USD 1.80 to USD 2.80 per gallon until December. Subsequently, the price would depend on a band system tied to international market prices. This measure triggered a national transport strike on September 13, with transport workers quickly reaching an agreement with the government in exchange for subsidies, and subsequently the national strike called by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) on September 18, demanding the repeal of the measure, a reduction in the VAT from 15% to 12%, no mining, respect for prior consultation, and more investment in education and health. It should be noted that public hospitals are in precarious conditions, without medicines or supplies. The media reports that patients who required dialysis treatment died because they did not receive it.

Submission to the United States and constitutional reforms

On June 3, the National Assembly, where the government has a majority, approved an amendment to Article 5 of the Constitution allowing foreign military bases. This amendment required the approval of the Constitutional Court and subsequently a referendum. On September 5, the Constitutional Court rejected four of the eight questions that Noboa had sent for popular consultation and referendum, including this issue.

Authoritarian laws and the Constitutional Court as the last bastion

In June 2025, the government managed to pass three new laws that were sent as economically urgent without actually being so: on Intelligence, National Solidarity, and Public Integrity. The progressive camp filed 23 constitutional challenges with the Constitutional Court because they violate rights related to children and adolescents, freedom of expression, intimacy, and privacy, among others. The Court provisionally suspended 16 articles of these laws, prompting a smear campaign organized by the government, which accused the Court of leaving the country defenseless against crime.

The National Solidarity Law sought to institutionalize the concept of “internal armed conflict” that Noboa used in a decree in January 2024. This implied: free use of the military in police operations; prior pardon for security personnel for potential crimes and human rights violations; criminalization of opposition organizations by classifying them as armed groups; and treatment of areas, movable and immovable property presumed to belong to criminal groups as military targets.

The Intelligence Law sought to intercept any communication without a court order, require information within two days without a court order, access personal data without a court order, reinstate confidential expenses (non-transparent discretionary funds), and incinerate documents rather than keep them on file.

On September 27, the Constitutional Court definitively rejected two of the laws, the National Security Law and the Public Integrity Law, as flagrantly unconstitutional.

The Constitutional Court is the only state body that the Noboa government does not control. The National Court of Justice and the Attorney General’s Office have supported the government by implementing lawfare against the opposition, especially Rafael Correa’s Citizen Revolution party, while failing to investigate any of the signs of corruption in the current government. These include million-dollar contracts with companies owned by Noboa’s relatives, new mining concessions that also lead to his relatives, 48 generators purchased to provide electricity, of which 30 are not compatible with the Ecuadorian system, and the scandal of the contract with Progen for the electrical system, for which USD 149 million was paid without results, leaving open the possibility that last year’s 14-hour daily blackouts will be repeated.

Abuses, protests, and repression

On September 16, in Cuenca, the country’s third largest city with 800,000 inhabitants, the largest environmental march in the country’s history took place: 100,000 people marched against the Loma Larga mining project in the Quimsacocha area, which would put water sources for agricultural and human use at risk. The project had been suspended by a local court for failing to comply with prior consultation and environmental requirements.

On September 19, Noboa ordered the National Electoral Council, by decree, to organize a National Constituent Assembly without seeking the opinion of the Constitutional Court, which constitutes a violation of the Constitution and was interpreted as an attempted coup d’état. The Court admitted five constitutional challenges and the execution of the decree was blocked, although the CNE quickly launched the call for elections for the Constituent Assembly.

At the time of publication of this article, the national strike called by CONAIE continued after 20 days, with support in several cities, especially from students. Roadblocks, protests, and shutdowns are spreading throughout the country, but are strongest in the Sierra, where the Indigenous movement is the main actor in the popular camp.

Tanks and military vehicles repressed the protests in the province of Imbabura, even firing on unarmed Indigenous communities. The Minister of Government, Zaida Rovira, said that it was a humanitarian convoy “ambushed by terrorist structures”. The convoy arrived without prior warning while all internet communication was interrupted, and there is no terrorist group linked to the incident. Efraín Fuérez was killed by the military in a nearby area. A Spanish journalist reporting from the area, Lautaro Bernat, was deported.

Repression of protests continues in Panama

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Original article by Pablo Meriguet republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Ammunition used against protestors, which led to the death of a young girl, Michelle Becker, from the large amount of tear gas that filled her home. Photo: Claridad Panamá

The demonstrations, which have lasted more than 70 days, have been firmly repressed by the Mulino government, which has affirmed that it will not repeal the social security law that has caused so much controversy.

On July 5, nearly 800 people from 17 countries signed a letter addressed to the president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, calling for international observation due to the increasing repression of protests in Panama. The document, signed by academics, artists, activists, workers, and trade unionists, also points out that the Central American country is witnessing growing criminalization of political dissent, which, according to the document, is reminiscent of the darkest years in its national history. Furthermore, the letter adds that the government is demonstrating an “authoritarian drift”.

The letter states: “President Mulino leads a legally legitimate government, but with minimal support. And he has responded to a wave of legitimate and democratic protests most violently and systematically ever recorded in the country’s history since 1903.”

For more than 70 days, thousands of Panamanians have taken to the streets, closed roads, and staged strikes against the neoliberal policies of the Mulino government. The demonstrators are demanding the repeal of:

A law reforming Social Security – reducing pensions and opening the door for the privatization of the system.
Growing US interference – according to the demonstrators, the US intends to install several military bases in Panama.
The reopening of a copper mine – the largest and most controversial in the country, already closed by the Panamanian justice system.

On June 20, the government suspended constitutional rights for 10 days in the banana-producing province of Bocas del Toro, the most active in the protests. According to the government, the measure was taken to safeguard the security of the area, although several demonstrators called that an excuse to persecute and imprison the leaders of the protests. More than 200 people have been arrested, including local community leaders.

In this regard, the letter states: “The step taken by the Executive to suspend constitutional guarantees in the province of Bocas del Toro makes it, de facto, an authoritarian government willing to suspend the Constitution when it is unable to negotiate, dialogue or listen to its people… The abuse of power of the State through the security forces and the arguments used to justify the violation of human rights, repression, and the prosecution of leaders are not acceptable in any way.”

Therefore, the letter denounces that the country is “going backwards in terms of human rights” and requests the immediate intervention of international human rights agencies to address the Panamanian situation and thus guarantee the fundamental freedoms of demonstrators and citizens alike.

Chris Nineham – State of War, The Police, Palestine & the Politics of Protest

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Chris Nineham – deputy leader of the Stop the War Coalition and Chief Steward for many of London’s demonstrations against the Israel Hamas War and the British government’s involvement (source) – was arrested for some reason at the Gaza protest in London yesterday. There’s also a video of him getting arrested.

This video is from 2 months ago. Among other things, he says

The police and the establishment in this country … are conducting a campaign of vilification and repression against the movement … it’s really a campaign against freedom of speech in general in this country and certainly on the issue of Palestine.
…
We should take no lectures from the Metropolitan Police or any other police force about hate crime and about intimidation …

Post author:dizzy
Post published:19 January 2025
Post category:Fascism human rights violations Israel new authoritarianism Palestine politics Zionism
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Repression of climate and environmental protest is intensifying across the world

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Image of a Just Stop Oil participant getting arrested at Kingsbury oil terminal. — A Just Stop Oil participant getting arrested at Kingsbury oil terminal. A JSO / Vladamir Morozov image.

Oscar Berglund, University of Bristol and Tie Franco Brotto, University of Bristol

Climate and environmental protest is being criminalised and repressed around the world. The criminalisation of such protest has received a lot of attention in certain countries, including the UK and Australia. But there have not been any attempts to capture the global trend – until now.

We recently published a report, with three University of Bristol colleagues, which shows this repression is indeed a global trend – and that it is becoming more difficult around the world to stand up for climate justice.

This criminalisation and repression spans the global north and south, and includes more and less democratic countries. It does, however, take different forms.

Our report distinguishes between climate and environmental protest. The latter are campaigns against specific environmentally destructive projects – most commonly oil and gas extraction and pipelines, deforestation, dam building and mining. They take place all around the world.

Climate protests are aimed at mitigating climate change by decreasing carbon emissions, and tend to make bigger policy or political demands (“cut global emissions now” rather than “don’t build this power plant”). They often take place in urban areas and are more common in the global north.

Greenpeace cover Rishi Sunak's home in black oily fabric in protests at Sunak's intended huge expansion of North Sea fossil fuel exploration. — Greenpeace cover Rishi Sunak’s home in black oily fabric in protests at Sunak’s intended huge expansion of North Sea fossil fuel exploration. Image © Greenpeace.

Four ways to repress activism

The intensifying criminalisation and repression is taking four main forms.

1. Anti-protest laws are introduced

Anti-protest laws may give the police more powers to stop protest, introduce new criminal offences, increase sentence lengths for existing offences, or give policy impunity when harming protesters. In the 14 countries we looked at, we found 22 such pieces of legislation introduced since 2019.

2. Protest is criminalised through prosecution and courts

This can mean using laws against climate and environmental activists that were designed to be used against terrorism or organised crime. In Germany, members of Letzte Generation (Last Generation), a direct action group in the mould of Just Stop Oil, were charged in May 2024 with “forming a criminal organisation”. This section of the law is typically used against mafia organisations and had never been applied to a non-violent group.

In the Philippines, anti-terrorism laws have been used against environmentalists who have found themselves unable to return to their home islands.

Criminalising protest can also mean lowering the threshold for prosecution, preventing climate activists from mentioning climate change in court, and changing other court processes to make guilty verdicts more likely. Another example is injunctions that can be taken out by corporations against activists who protest against them.

3. Harsher policing

This stretches from stopping and searching to surveillance, arrests, violence, infiltration and threatening activists. The policing of activists is carried out not just by state actors like police and armed forces, but also private actors including private security, organised crime and corporations.

In Germany, regional police have been accused of collaborating with an energy giant (and its private fire brigade) to evict coal mine protesters, while private security was used extensively in policing anti-mining activists in Peru.

4. Killings and disappearances

Lastly, in the most extreme cases, environmental activists are murdered. This is an extension of the trend for harsher policing, as it typically follows threats by the same range of actors. We used data from the NGO Global Witness to show this is increasingly common in countries including Brazil, Philippines, Peru and India. In Brazil, most murders are carried out by organised crime groups while in Peru, it is the police force.

Protests are increasing

To look more closely at the global picture of climate and environmental protest – and the repression of it – we used the Armed Conflicts Location Event database. This showed us that climate protests increased dramatically in 2018-2019 and have not declined since. They make up on average about 4% of all protest in the 81 countries that had more than 1,000 protests recorded in the 2012-2023 period:

This second graph shows that environmental protest has increased more gradually:

We used this data to see what kind of repression activists face. By looking for keywords in the reporting of protest events, we found that on average 3% of climate and environmental protests face police violence, and 6.3% involve arrests. But behind these averages are large differences in the nature of protest and its policing.

A combination of the presence of protest groups like Extinction Rebellion, who often actively seek arrests, and police forces that are more likely to make arrests, mean countries such as Australia and the UK have very high levels of arrest. Some 20% of Australian climate and environmental protests involve arrests, against 17% in the UK – with the highest in the world being Canada on 27%.

Meanwhile, police violence is high in countries such as Peru (6.5%) and Uganda (4.4%). France stands out as a European country with relatively high levels of police violence (3.2%) and low levels of arrests (also 3.2%).

In summary, while criminalisation and repression does not look the same across the world, there are remarkable similarities. It is increasing in a lot of countries, it involves both state and corporate actors, and it takes many forms.

This repression is taking place in a context where states are not taking adequate action on climate change. By criminalising activists, states depoliticise them. This conceals the fact these activists are ultimately right about the state of the climate and environment – and the lack of positive government action in these areas.

Oscar Berglund, Senior Lecturer in International Public and Social Policy, University of Bristol and Tie Franco Brotto, PhD Candidate, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. [Accompanying images are selected by dizzy deep of https://onaquietday.org.]

Youth Demand shit in Rishi Sunak's private lake 25/6/24 — Youth Demand shit in Rishi Sunak’s private lake 25/6/24

Post author:dizzy
Post published:8 January 2025
Post category:Climate Crisis Climate Emergency Greenpeace Just Stop Oil Neo-liberalism new authoritarianism
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Post-election repression in Tanzania as President Suluhu “wins” with 97.66%