TANZANIA ELECTIONS CHAOS

Tanzania was on lockdown and with a communications blackout Thursday, a day after elections turned into violent chaos with unconfirmed reports of many dead.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan had hoped to secure her position and quash dissent within her party in the almost unopposed elections, with the leading opponents either jailed or disqualified. Rights groups denounced a "wave of terror" in the east African nation going into the vote, where a spate of high-profile abductions escalated in the final days.

Hundreds protested in the economic hub Dar es Salaam and elsewhere on Wednesday despite a heavy security presence, with some singing: “We want our country back.” Unverified images shared on social media suggested initially small protests escalated during the day with reports of police responding with live fire as they targeted polling stations, police vehicles and businesses connected to the ruling party.

An Internet blackout was still in place on Thursday, while the police and army had set up checkpoints around Dar es Salaam and other cities, the diplomatic source said. Schools and colleges were closed on Thursday and civil servants told to work from home, an AFP reporter said.

The government has remained silent and the heavily controlled local media made no mention of the unrest, nor provide any update on the election.

As many as 30 people may have been killed in Wednesday's violence, the diplomatic source said, although this could not be confirmed. "It's unprecedented. Where we go from here is unclear," they said, with Hassan's status "uncertain."Unrest was reported in multiple areas, including Songwe in the west and tourist hub Arusha.

Foreign journalists have largely been banned from traveling to mainland Tanzania to cover the elections. 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 to manage election security, according to specialist publication Africa Intelligence.

It 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, accused of promoting protests with jokey videos about selling facemasks.

They called the violence "deeply disturbing," warning the "risk of further escalation is high" as they urged restraint from authorities.

A member of opposition party Chadema indicated to AFP they had reports of at least four deaths, but stressed they were “not certain” of the figures.

Hassan came to power in 2021, elevated from vice president on the sudden death of Magufuli. She faced internal opposition as the country's first female leader but was feted by rights groups for easing restrictions on the opposition and media. Those hopes faded as she oversaw a crackdown described by Amnesty as a "wave of terror" including "enforced disappearance and torture.and extrajudicial killings of opposition figures and activists."