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PoliticsTanzania

Tanzania: Hundreds defy lockdown in second day of protests

Kieran Burke with Reuters, AFP
October 30, 2025

Government workers and students had been ordered to stay home after violence marred voting in the East African country.

A Tanzanian police officer pushes a forearm into a neck of a man during a scuffle at a polling station in Stone Town
Tanzanians voted on Wednesday in elections in which the main challengers were either jailed or barred from runningImage: Marco Longari/AFP

Streets in Tanzaniasaw another round of demonstrations on Thursday, a day after a general election marred by violence. Protesters gathered in at least three neighborhoods in the commercial hub of Dar es Salaam, where police fired tear gas and gunshots to disperse the crowds, witnesses told Reuters.

The unrest in Dar es Salaam and other cities began on Wednesday over the exclusion of opposition candidates. While results are still to come, President Samia Suluhu Hassan is expected to cement her position for a second term in office.

Her party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), has governed since Tanzania's independence in 1961.

The AFP news agency cited a diplomatic source saying that protests continued into the night despite a curfew imposed on Wednesday.

What the government has said

"All public servants in the country should work from home except those whose job duties require them to be present at their workplaces as directed by their employers," said a post on the Instagram account of government spokesperson Gerson Msigwa late on Wednesday.

Tanzania's state broadcaster also announced that students should remain at home on Thursday.

The French AFP news agency also reported that the internet blackout was still in place on Thursday, a day after the election, citing a diplomatic source.

The same source said that military and police checkpoints were in place in and around Dar es Salaam.

Covering Wednesday's polls has proven difficult as many journalists, both local and international, were denied accreditation.

Those who attempted to enter polling stations were not allowed to take photos.

Tanzania goes to the polls: Where's the opposition?

04:20

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In Ubungo, Dar es Salaam, witnesses on Wednesday told DW there had been opposition protests and that some polling stations had been vandalized.

Presidential poll without main opposition parties

Tanzania's largest opposition party, Chadema, boycotted the presidential election after its leader Tundu Lissu was imprisoned and faces treason charges after calling for electoral reforms.

Luhaga Mpina, the presidential candidate for the second-largest opposing party, the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT-Wazalendo), was disqualified by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Sixteen opposition candidates representing smaller parties were on the ballot but were not expected to be a challenge for President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who is widely expected to win a second term.

Edited by: Darko Janjevic

Correction, October 30, 2025: A previous version of this article referred to Dar es Salaam as Tanzania's capital city. While Dar es Salaam is the country's most populous city and its historic capital, the modern capital of Tanzania is Dodoma. This has now been corrected. DW News Online apologizes for the error.

Kieran Burke News writer and editor focused on international relations, global security and law enforcement.
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