Tanzanian opposition leader Aisha Machano is in serious condition after being abducted and beaten on Sunday, according to a statement by the opposition party CHADEMA. The party said that Machano was picked up by motorcyclists after being left in the Kibiti wilderness. Machano was admitted to Mwananyamala Regional Hospital for her injuries before being discharged.

According to Machano, her abductors identified themselves as the Police Force. “I was handcuffed, blindfolded, I didn’t know where I was being taken”, Machano told journalists. When her abductors left, Machano wandered out to a nearby road in serious pain before she was found. Addressing the public, Machano urged women not to let the incident discourage them from registering and voting in the upcoming elections on October 27.

Machano’s experience is a somber reminder of the abduction of CHADEMA secretariat Ali Kibao just two months earlier, who was taken from a bus by armed persons and later found dead and doused with acids. Kibao’s death was followed by waves of protests that shook the African state and exacerbated what was already an environment of volatile political unrest. Numerous opposition leaders and opposing political figures have been arrested amidst their calls to action against the disturbing pattern of abductions.

CHADEMA hopes to challenge Tanzania’s ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi, which has enjoyed successive electoral victories since the country’s independence. Human Rights Watch has urged the government to address the violation and safeguard human rights ahead of the impending election day. “President Sami Saluhu Hassan should ensure a prompt and impartial investigation into the disappearances of her critics and put an end to the ongoing clampdowns on her political opponents and independent media.”