Tension is building in Tanzania as protesters take to the streets as the General Elections gets underway in Tanzania.
In video clips seen by The Star, groups of young people were captured blocking roads, interrupting traffic and confronting police officers.
The youth, chanting and waving, took over a major highway to express their frustration.
The situation quickly escalated when some protesters began throwing stones at police officers, prompting the officers to fire teargas to disperse the crowds.
Earlier on, the government had cautioned against protests, warning that such will not be tolerated.
Police had stationed tanks around the commercial capital Dar es Salaam to prevent unrest.
The elections begun early morning, with a reported low turnout, as the main challengers to President Samia Suluhu were either jailed or barred from contesting.
Suluhu is a former vice-president who took office after the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli, in 2021.
When Suluhu took office, she initially reversed several of Magufuli’s hardline policies.
She lifted the ban on political rallies and extended an olive branch to opposition leaders — steps that earned her praise both at home and abroad.
However, optimism soon faded as her government was later accused of reverting to restrictive practices reminiscent of the previous administration, dampening expectations of real political reform.
In April, Tundu Lissu, the vice-chair of the leading opposition party, Chadema, was arrested and charged with treason and cybercrime offences.
His party was later disqualified from participating.
ACT-Wazalendo leader Luhaga Mpina was also disqualified, meaning Suluhu will contest only lesser-known candidates from minor parties.
He had managed to get his candidacy reinstated by the High Court after he was barred over a procedural issue – but when the Attorney General appealed last month, the electoral commission decided to uphold the disqualification.
Samia’s CCM has won every election since the reintroduction of multi-party democracy in 1992, but the campaigns are usually vibrant with robust debate between the rival parties.
As reported by BBC, young people make up the majority of Tanzania’s 37.7 million people registered voters – and there is anger from some over the president’s silence on issues like the shocking abductions.
The election commission says it will announce the results within three days of election day.
Source: The Star
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