Tension is building in Tanzania as protesters take to the streets amid the ongoing General Elections.
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 would not be tolerated.
Police had stationed tanks around the commercial capital, Dar
es Salaam, to prevent unrest.
The elections began early morning, with a reported low turnout. 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.
