Tanzania Election: Curfew in Dar es Salaam Amid Protests and Disqualified Opposition

Election Day Unrest in Tanzania

• 🗳️ Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan is expected to win the election, which proceeded after candidates from the two leading opposition parties were disqualified.
• ⚠️ Violent protests erupted in Dar es Salaam, the country's main city, leading to a curfew being imposed on election day.
• 🌐 A monitoring group reported internet service disruptions across the country.

Opposition Disqualification and Repression

• 🚫 The leading opposition party, Chadma, was disqualified in April for refusing to sign an electoral code of conduct, with its leader facing treason charges.
• 📉 The candidate for the second-largest opposition party, ACT-Wazalendo, was also disqualified.
• 🗣️ Amnesty International describes the use of repressive and vague laws to silence opposition, citizens, and journalists, leading to a human rights crisis with silenced voices and repressed opposition.

Perceptions of the Election

• 🎭 Opposition figures view the election not as a genuine democratic process but as a staged performance to create an illusion of democracy.
• 🏛️ The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party has dominated national politics since 1977.

Human Rights Concerns

• 👍 President Hassan initially received praise for easing repression and censorship upon taking power in 2021.
• ⚠️ However, rights campaigners and opposition candidates have accused her government of unexplained abductions of critics in the past two years.
• 🔍 Hassan stated her government is committed to human rights and ordered an investigation into abduction reports, but no official findings have been made public.