Tanzania's financial hub and largest city, Dar es Salaam, faced social unrest with clashes erupting between protesters and police, after general election kicked off in the country on Wednesday.
Footage shows a column of black smoke rising over a structure, although the exact location of the incident could not be independently verified at the time of publication.
According to the local media, protesters set a police station on fire and damaged other public infrastructure.
The civil disorder reportedly began after supporters of opposition parties took to the streets, demanding electoral and political reforms. Police reportedly used tear gas to disperse the crowd. A curfew has been imposed in the city, with global monitors also recording ‘nationwide disruption to internet connectivity'.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan is expected to win the elections, especially after opponents from two major political parties were disqualified.
Hassan, who is seeking a second term in office, has been accused of cracking down on dissent to stay in power. Days before the elections, Amnesty International said that Hassan’s government had ‘intensified repressive practices’ against opposition leaders, journalists, and dissenting voices, targeting them with ‘assaults, arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.’
She came to power in 2021 after the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli. Over 37 million of the East African nation’s total population will be choosing a president, parliament members, and local councillors for the 29 regions on mainland Tanzania. A president and parliament members will also be elected in the autonomous island of Zanzibar.
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