DAR ES SALAAM, Nov 23, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Tanzania's main opposition leader Freeman Mbowe has been released on bail, his party said Saturday, after he was detained just days before local polls.

The party said on Friday that he and other party figures had been "forcibly" detained by officers after leaving a rally that police broke up using tear gas in the country's south.

"Tonight, the Chadema national chairman Freeman Mbowe... along with other leaders who were being held at Vwawa Police Station, have been released on bail," the party said on social media platform X early Saturday.

Following his release at around midnight local time, Mbowe addressed reporters, telling them: "We were accused of violating the campaign schedule but that's baseless because we had already agreed with our fellow opposition."

"I believe this is a deliberate move to disrupt our planned campaigns," he said.

He added that police were still holding some Chadema members, and that he and others had been told to report back on November 29, but that he intended to consult lawyers.

The local polls slated for November 27 are expected to be a barometer of the political landscape ahead of a presidential election due next October.