Tanzania has cancelled next month's independence day celebrations, with the funds to be instead spent on rebuilding infrastructure damaged in recent election unrest, Prime Minister Mwigulu Nchemba has said.
His announcement comes as the opposition and others have been calling for people to gather on independence day - 9 December - to demonstrate about killings that took place following last month's disputed poll.
The opposition believes hundreds of people died in the crackdown, although the government has yet to provide a death toll and has established a commission of inquiry.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan won the poll with 98% of the vote, which the opposition has labeled a mockery of democracy. Her main opponents were either detained or not allowed to run due to technicalities.
Election observers reported signs of vote manipulation, and the government had imposed an internet blackout during the elections to suppress dissent.
Gruesome images from the unrest have circulated online, with international media validating some. The government criticized this portrayal as misinformation aimed at tarnishing the country's image.
On Sunday, while announcing the cancellation of celebrations, Nchemba urged Tanzanians to seek political dialogue and avoid returning to violence: Let us not return to what we went through, because the consequences are irreparable, he stated.
President Samia's administration, initially praised for reducing political oppression, faces growing scrutiny as political freedoms appear to be shrinking once again.
