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DODOMA, Tanzania (AP) — Tanzania's government on Tuesday ordered the expulsion of the head of the United Nations Development Program in this East African country.
Awa Dabo, a Gambian national, suffered "poor relations with her work colleagues and UNDP management," Tanzania's foreign ministry said in a statement.
The government acted "after noticing a slowed performance of the agency," the statement said.
Dabo is believed to have already left the country. It was not immediately possible to get a comment from UNDP.
Some observers in Tanzania have criticized the decision to expel Dabo, saying she was targeted following her criticism of a disputed election in the semi-autonomous island archipelago of Zanzibar in 2015.
Speaking in the National Assembly, lawmaker Pascal Haonga said there was "no doubt that resurfacing claims that the U.N. official was intruding in local politics, especially the ended election in Zanzibar" was the main reason for her expulsion.
The results of Zanzibar's election in October 2015 were nullified by the electoral body over alleged malpractices, even as the opposition claimed victory.
Another vote in March 2016, won by the ruling party, was boycotted by Zanzibar's main opposition parties, whose leaders declared it unconstitutional.
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