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Polling stations in Tanzania’s largest city saw minimal turnout on Wednesday, with many voters deterred as the main opponents to President Samia Suluhu Hassan were either imprisoned or prevented from contesting the election.
Authorities issued strong warnings against any demonstrations, and tanks were positioned around Dar es Salaam to avert possible disturbances. The heavy security presence, however, appears to have discouraged citizens from voting.
AFP reporters observed that several polling centres in typically busy parts of the city remained almost empty an hour after opening, a stark contrast to previous elections when voters would usually queue early.
“We are going to mobilise people from the streets and their homes to come and vote,” an official from the ruling Revolution Party (Chama Cha Mapinduzi: CCM) in the Temeke area told AFP, requesting anonymity.
“We need to rescue the situation because some are hesitating,” the official said.
Residents expressed fear over the heightened security environment. A food seller who identified herself only as Saada, aged 40, explained why she stayed home. “I could not go out today because of fear of violence,” she told AFP.
Amnesty International has condemned what it called a “wave of terror” before the vote, highlighting “enforced disappearance and torture… and extrajudicial killings of opposition figures and activists”.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan, 65, is determined to cement her position with an emphatic victory that will silence critics within her own party, analysts say. (Photo by MARCO LONGARI / AFP)
President Hassan, now 65, is seeking an authoritative mandate that analysts believe could silence detractors within her own ranks.
Her chief political rival Tundu Lissu is currently standing trial for treason, a charge that carries the possibility of execution, while his party Chadema has been barred from taking part. Meanwhile, Luhaga Mpina of ACT-Wazalendo, considered the only other major contender, was removed from the race over procedural issues.
Hassan rose to the presidency in 2021 following the death of John Magufuli. Celebrated at first for loosening restrictions on media and opposition groups, expectations of broader political freedoms quickly diminished.
Human Rights Watch stated that “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”.
Concerns are spreading even within the governing party’s ranks. Humphrey Polepole, a former CCM spokesperson and ambassador to Cuba, vanished from his home earlier this month after resigning and publicly criticising the president. Family members discovered blood traces at his residence.
The Tanganyika Law Society reports it has documented 83 abductions since Hassan assumed office, with 20 additional cases emerging in recent weeks.
AFP observed polling proceedings in Zanzibar, where a closer contest is expected due to what analysts describe as a relatively freer political environment on the islands.
Foreign press access to mainland Tanzania has been heavily restricted, effectively preventing many international journalists from covering the vote firsthand.
