Tanzania’s prime minister urged people to stay at home on Tuesday, when activists have called for protests against the government's response to the demonstrations around October elections.

Though the United Nations and the opposition says hundreds of people died during the recent protests, the Tanzanian government states that the said-death toll is exaggerated.

The protests were fuelled by the exclusion of leading opposition candidates.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan was declared the winner of the presidential poll with nearly 98% of votes.

'Rest and celebrate'

The government has acknowledged people were killed, without providing its own death toll, but it has rejected allegations that police used excessive force.

After calls circulated last month on social media for protests on December 9, the day mainland Tanzania won its independence from Britain, Prime Minister Mwigulu Nchemba announced there would be no official celebrations this year.

Speaking on Monday in a video posted on the government information centre's X account, he urged people to stay home, without directly referring to the expected protests.

“The government advises all citizens who will not have an emergency on December 9 to use the day for rest and celebrate it at home, except for those whose work duties require them to be at their work stations,” he said.

Government says no formal notice received for protests

The police said on Friday that any demonstration would be illegal since authorities had not received any formal notification from organisers.

Heavy deployments of the police and army were visible on Monday along major roads in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam and northern city of Arusha, witnesses said.

Hassan has appointed a commission to investigate election-related violence but has repeatedly denied that security forces acted improperly and accused protesters of seeking to overthrow the government.