NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Internet connectivity was disrupted across Tanzania as the country on Wednesday held an election marked by concerns from human rights groups and the detention of opposition members.
Netblocks, an internet access advocacy group, confirmed the outage, saying on X that “live network data show a nationwide disruption to internet connectivity.” Just before the disruption was confirmed, users noted an internet slowdown in the African country.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who is seeking a second term, belongs to the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party that has governed the country since it gained independence in 1961.
Lines formed at three polling stations visited by Associated Press journalists. Voting officially began at 7 a.m. local time and was scheduled to end at 4 p.m., after which vote tallying will begin. Preliminary results were expected within 24 hours, but the electoral commission has up to seven days to announce the final outcome.
The leader of the main opposition CHADEMA party, Tundu Lissu, is in prison and faces treason charges after calling for electoral reforms, while the second largest opposition party’s candidate was barred from running.
Amnesty International said the atmosphere around the polls was characterized by fear, saying it had verified cases of enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings ahead of the polls. The rights group said alleged abuses by the security forces undermine the legitimacy of the election.
Hassan seeks her first full term in office after completing the term of her predecessor, John Pombe Magufuli, who died suddenly in 2021. Sixteen opposition candidates representing smaller parties are also on the ballot.
Tanzania has more than 37 million registered voters, a 26% increase from 2020, but that growth in voter registration is not likely to lead to more people going to the polls, analysts warn, citing apathy over an appearance that Hassan will cruise to victory unchallenged.
CHADEMA has called for protests on election day. Police dispersed several protesters who gathered in the Kimara Kibo neighborhood in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.
Hassan has said that no protests would be allowed.
An opposition party in Tanzania’s archipelago of Zanzibar, ACT Wazalendo, alleged that early voting on Tuesday — electoral and security officials cast ballots — was marred by irregularities that included voters impersonating security officials, and the barring of party representatives by electoral officials.
The electoral commission said it had followed the law in conducting Tuesday’s early vote.
