Tanzania elections: Protests erupt amid internet disruption

Tanzanian police on Wednesday declared an evening curfew amid growing unrest on the backdrop of the country's election.

The curfew starts at 06:00 p.m. local time (1500 GMT) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's biggest city and commercial capital, the country's national broadcaster TBC reported.

"Following the unrest which started this morning, the police alert the public in Dar es Salaam that everyone should be at home from six in the evening," police chief Camillus Wambura said on TBC. Wambura also said military and police officers would be patrolling the city.
 

The main opposition party in Tanzania, CHADEMA, has condemned the ongoing general election, claiming it does not meet democratic standards and referring to it as a "coronation" rather than a genuine vote. 

Deogratias Munishi, the party's secretary for foreign affairs, told Kenya's Citizen Television that the process lacks genuine competition.

The government has denied these allegations, insisting that the election is being conducted in a free, fair and transparent environment. It also rejected accusations of human rights violations and the abduction of opposition leaders during the campaign period.

During her campaign, Suluhu Hassan emphasized her government’s achievements in improving transport infrastructure and increasing electricity production, promising continued development for Tanzanians.

Preliminary results are expected to be released within three days.

French news agency AFP is reporting protests on the streets of Tanzania's largest city, Dar es Salam, saying one of its journalists saw a police station set on fire in the city. 

Police fired tear gas but were pushed back by "hundreds" of protesters hurling stones and other projectiles at them, the correspondent reported, saying the protesters were singing "We want our country back." 

The police station was located on Nelson Mandela Road, the main road from the city's port.

There was a heavy security presence deployed around the city on Wednesday, with tanks and other vehicles at key intersections and junctions.

As Tanzanians cast their ballots in an election boycotted by the main opposition, DW's George Okachi talks to political analysts and correspondents on the ground to find out how the process is unfolding and what this poll means for the country's future.

The cybersecurity and digital governance tracker NetBlocks says it has identified a nationwide internet outage in Tanzania on polling day. 

"Confirmed: Live network data show a nationwide disruption to internet connectivity in Tanzania on election day, corroborating reports of a digital blackout," NetBlocks wrote in posts on social media. 

The group noted how this coincided with presidential and parliamentary elections in a country where both the major opposition parties had been barred. 

Official figures from international groups like the World Bank, which published data for 2022, suggest that only around one third of Tanzania's population has internet access. 

However, this figure is known to be rising rapidly amid the introduction of 5G and better provision of mobile services. Specialist website TechAfrica News reported this month that roughly 87% of Tanzania's population was online, citing data from the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority. 

In Kigamboni District, located in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, the voting process is currently calm and orderly, residents told DW, with most polling stations opening on time. 

So far, voter turnout remains relatively low, as many people have not shown up at the polling stations. 

Those who did show up were a mixed bag, including young people, women and elderly voters.

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has cast her vote in the Tanzanian capital Dodoma. 

After voting, she said she had seen media reports about the elections and was pleased with them. 

Many journalists, both local and international, have been denied accreditation to cover the elections, and those who attempted to enter polling stations were not even allowed to take photos.

In Ubungo, Dar es Salaam, witnesses told DW that opposition protests have begun, and some polling stations were vandalized.

In Tanzania's polls, women and young voters could, in theory, be the kingmakers in the vote, making up the largest voting blocs by occupying over 51% and roughly 60% of the country's demographics, respectively.

Read more here.

Tanzanians are voting in a general election that will decide the presidency. There are 17 candidates, but with main challengers are either jailed or barred from running, incumbent Samia Suluhu Hassan is expected to win easily.

Media censorship and arrests of opposition figures have cast a shadow over the vote. 

As polls opened in Tanzania on Wednesday, Tanzania's 2025 presidential race will be without the main opposition parties, leaving the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party almost unopposed.

Tanzania's largest opposition party, Chadema, is boycotting the upcoming presidential election after its leader Tundu Lissu was imprisoned facing treason charges after calling for electoral reforms.

Luhaga Mpina, the presidential candidate for the second-largest opposing party, the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT-Wazalendo), has been disqualified by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Sixteen opposition candidates representing smaller parties are on the ballot but are not expected to be a challenge for President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who is widely expected to win a second term.

Read more here.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan is widely expected to win a second term, especially with the main opponents jailed or barred from running.

Her party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), has governed since Tanzania's independence in 1961.

Experts also say voter apathy could help Suluhu Hassan win more than her promises of big infrastructure projects, hiring of school teachers, and universal health insurance.

In 2021, Suluhu Hassan was praised after taking office for curtailing the political repression and media censorship that marked the rule of her predecessor, John Magufuli.

However, in the past two years, rights groups and opposition figures have accused her government of carrying out abductions of its critics.

In a recent report, Human Rights Watch has said, "the authorities have suppressed the political opposition and critics of the ruling party, stifled the media, and failed to ensure the electoral commission's independence."

Polling stations across Tanzania opened on Wednesday for presidential and parliamentary elections, with more than 37 million people registered to vote.

Voting began at 7 a.m. local time (0400 UTC), with queues forming at polling places.

The poll stations are scheduled to close at 4:00 pm, after which vote tallying will begin.

Preliminary results are expected within a day, although officials have up to a week to declare the final outcome.

Aside from the president, voters will also elect 400 members of parliament, as well as the president and representative of the semi-autonomous Zanzibar archipelago.

With the ruling party dominating the campaign and opposition calls for protests largely muted, analysts expect President Samia Suluhu Hassan to win comfortably.

Welcome to our coverage of the elections in Tanzania, where the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party seeks to extend decades in power.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan is expected to win after candidates from the two leading opposition parties were barred from standing.