There were few voters at polling stations in Tanzania’s biggest city on Wednesday as the main challengers to President Samia Suluhu Hassan were either jailed or barred from running.
The government and police made repeated threats that protests would not be tolerated, and stationed tanks around the commercial capital Dar es Salaam on Wednesday to prevent any unrest.
But the heightened security may have backfired, with voters worried about showing up.
Polling stations in Arusha for instance were virtually empty an hour after opening compared to previous elections.
Samia Suluhu Hassan, a former vice-president who took office after the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli, in 2021, has left nothing to chance for her first presidential and parliamentary electoral test.
Candidates from the two main opposition parties in the east African country have been disqualified, opposition gatherings have been banned and government critics have been abducted, killed or arrested.
Analysts say they expect voter apathy, possible unrest over the stifling of opposition voices, and the further entrenchment of Hassan and the ruling CCM party.
