DAR ES SALAAM – Tanzania was under a communications blackout on Thursday, a day after elections turned into violent chaos with unconfirmed reports of many dead. 

President Samia Suluhu Hassan had sought to solidify her position and silence criticism within her party in the virtually uncontested polls, with the main challengers either jailed or barred from standing. 

On election day, violence broke out as hundreds took to the streets. An AFP journalist saw a police station burned down in the economic hub, Dar es Salaam, and there were reports of polling stations being attacked and protesters tearing down images of the president in several parts of the country. 

A diplomatic source told AFP that there were unconfirmed reports of over 30 deaths. A full internet blackout and limits on international calls made verification difficult. 

Nearly all foreign journalists were barred from the election. 

The government made no statement about the unrest, and local media haven’t updated stories since Wednesday. Schools and colleges closed, civil servants worked from home, and gunshots were heard across Dar es Salaam. 

Unprecedented 

In the run-up, rights groups condemned a “wave of terror” in the east African nation, which has seen a string of high-profile abductions that ramped up in the final days. 

“It’s unprecedented… Where we go from here is unclear,” the diplomat said, with Hassan’s status “uncertain”. 

On the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar, the situation was calm, although ferries to the mainland had been suspended, an AFP reporter said. 

Tourists stranded at the airport, some sleeping on the floor among their luggage, said they had no communication and were running low on cash as card transactions were not working. 

“I have never experienced anything like this,” a France-bound passenger, who declined to give her name, told AFP. 

According to the specialist publication Africa Intelligence, much of the anger online has been directed at Hassan’s son, Abdul, who has been in charge of an “informal task force” of police and intelligence services tasked with managing election security. 

The “informal task force” is blamed for a massive increase in abductions of government critics in the last days before the vote, including a popular social media influencer, Niffer, who was accused of promoting protests with jokey videos about selling facemasks. 

Analysts says that Hassan has faced opposition from parts of the army and Magufuli’s allies since taking power. Amnesty International warned the “risk of further escalation is high” as it urged restraint from authorities. 

Hassan came to power in 2021, elevated from vice president following the sudden death of Magufuli. 

She faced internal opposition as the country’s first female leader but was initially welcomed by rights groups for easing restrictions on opposition and media. 

Those hopes faded as she oversaw a crackdown described by Amnesty as a “wave of terror,” including enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings of opposition figures and activists. 

Her main challenger, Tundu Lissu, is on trial for treason, facing a potential death penalty, and his party, Chadema, is banned from running. The only other serious candidate, Luhaga Mpina of ACT-Wazalendo, was disqualified on technicalities. -Nampa/AFP