Tanzania on the brink as protests rock Election Day

Tanzania is teetering on the edge of a major political crisis after thousands of citizens defied curfew orders and took to the streets on Election Day.

Polling stations and electoral materials were destroyed and police stations invaded, some torched in protest of what they termed sham vote marred by repression, candidate exclusions and state intimidation.

The unprecedented protests erupted across Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Mwanza and Dodoma on Wednesday into the night and extended to Thursday, despite the government deploying the military and imposing a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Dar es Salaam.

The defiance underscored widespread anger against the government of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, whose reelection appears all but assured amid accusations that the polls were neither free nor fair.

Residents reported that security forces fired teargas and live bullets in several neighbourhoods of Dar es Salaam, including Mbagala, Ubungo and Gongo la Mboto.

In other instances, demonstrators marched alongside deployed soldiers, chanting for ‘uhuru wa kweli’ — real freedom and “hatutaki CCM (Chama Cha Mapinduzi)” — we don’t want CCM party.

Reuters reported at least 10 people were killed.

Protesters also torched business establishments and vehicles in widespread destruction. 

Witnesses reported gunfire in the night, with roads blocked and internet connectivity cut off nationwide and was only restored on Thursday evening.

Netblocks data showed internet was down since Wednesday, while the US Embassy in Tanzania confirmed widespread internet blackout, making all communication difficult.

“There are reports of countrywide demonstrations resulting in outbreaks of violence and roadblocks. Some major roads, including the main road to Julius Nyerere International Airport, are closed,” the embassy said in a consular alert to its nationals.

The alert on Thursday was the second, barely 24 hours after the embassy first advised Americans in Tanzania to shelter indoors as protests erupted nationwide during the start of the polls.

With the internet shutdown, protesters were mobilising through Zello app, which works as a walkie talkie.

The deployment of troops — a rare sight in Tanzanian politics — marked a turning point for a country long seen as one of East Africa’s most peaceful and stable states.

Soldiers and police were stationed at key intersections and public offices as the government sought to contain what officials described as “isolated acts of lawlessness.”

However, the images emerging on social media before the internet blackout told a different story: Citizens marching beside the military, in scenes reminiscent of Kenya’s Gen Z protests in June last year.

Government spokesperson Gerson Msigwa in a message shared through Instagram directed that state officials and those in the private sector to work from home, other than for those whose responsibilities require them to be on site.

“Citizens who don’t have to leave their homes are urged to undertake their activities from home,” Msigwa said.

The demonstrations were sparked by the exclusion of key opposition candidates, notably Tundu Lissu of the Chadema party, who was disqualified on technical grounds. Lissu is still in jail, having been charged with treason.

Chadema secretary general John Mnyika said the polls were not real elections, but “a sham aimed at deceiving the world that elections are taking place in Tanzania”.

Mnyika was leading a Chadema delegation in a meeting with African Union Election Observation Mission to Tanzania led by former Botswana President Eric Masisi.

Civil society groups and opposition leaders said the ruling party CCM has steadily eroded democratic freedoms, silenced the media and weaponised the judiciary to eliminate competition.

US Senate Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Senator Jim Risch raised concerns with the shrinking democratic space, saying that the clergy in Tanzania were being targeted for speaking out against President Hassan’s "brutal regime".

Risch said the administration was abducting critics, torturing detainees and jailing opponents to silence dissent ahead of elections.

“This crackdown is not only an assault on Christians and other citizens—it threatens Tanzania’s stability, undermines US security and economic interests, and risks pushing the country further into China’s embrace,” he added.

In a joint statement on general election, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on Thursday expressed their concern on the developments, urging democratic partners to stand firm in defence of democracy and human rights.

“What should have been a celebration of democracy, instead unfolded in an atmosphere of repression, intimidation, and fear. These elections cannot be regarded as free and fair. The fraud did not begin at the ballot box - it has been unfolding for months,” the MEPs said in the joint statement.

They were David McAllister (Germany), chairperson of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs; Mounir Satouri (France) chairperson of the European Parliament’s sub-committee on human rights and Merja Kyllönen (Finland), chairperson of the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with the Pan-African Parliament.

The EU legislators said that opposition leaders in Tanzania had been harassed and arrested, their parties excluded and the civic space “systematically dismantled”.

“The arrest and ongoing trial for high treason of opposition leader Tundu Lissu - a man whose only ‘crime’ was to demand free and fair elections - exemplifies the collapse of democratic values and judicial independence in Tanzania. Lissu must be released immediately and unconditionally,” they said.

They added that no election can be credible when the main opposition is silenced, freedoms of assembly and expression are denied, and when independent media are intimidated and censored.

“We urge all democratic partners to stand firm in the defence of democracy and human rights. Silence is not neutrality - it is complicity,” they said.

On Thursday, the national broadcaster started broadcasting the announcement of the presidential elections by the electoral commission.

Activist Maria Tsehai, however, criticised the announcement, saying it’s a contempt to Tanzanians as it was clear no elections were held.

The protests have laid bare the deep frustration among Tanzanians — especially the youth — who say their voices have been stifled for too long.