By Kennedy Nalyanya
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania —Tanzania is on edge. In a dramatic display of political defiance, the country’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has started rolling out presidential results, choosing to forge ahead even as an uneasy cloud of street protests and a crippling internet blackout hangs heavy over the nation.
The initial results confirm what many expected: President Samia Suluhu Hassan of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party has taken an early and commanding lead. But the numbers are being delivered against a backdrop of deep unrest that threatens to overshadow the entire democratic process.
The tension boiled over on Wednesday, the main election day. Reports from major cities, particularly Dar es Salaam, painted a picture of chaos. Irate youth stormed polling stations, destroying ballot boxes and scattering papers in clear acts of protest. The police response was swift and heavy-handed, culminating in authorities imposing a sweeping curfew in the capital and other restive areas.
To add to the confusion, citizens reported prolonged power blackouts in several regions, sparking fears that the interruptions were strategically timed to manipulate the vote counting process—a move that further erodes public trust.
The most damning criticism isn't about the results, but the legitimacy of the poll itself.
From Nairobi, the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) wasted no time in condemning the election as a “sham.” The NGO raised alarm over the crucial absence of credible international scrutiny. Key Western nations—including Belgium, Sweden, Germany, and Ireland—had already withdrawn their traditional observer missions, with the US only "monitoring" and the EU only maintaining "diplo watches."
This mass withdrawal created a vacuum, which was quickly filled by regional blocs: the African Union (AU), SADC, the East African Community (EAC), and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) all deployed observation teams.
However, their presence has become a source of controversy. Critics argue that these regional bodies are effectively legitimising a deeply flawed process by offering their stamp of approval on a vote that barred strong opposition candidates from fronting. For many keen observers of African democracy, this is a painful rerun of a familiar script: regional solidarity trumping democratic integrity.
INEC maintains that over 37.6 million registered voters were eligible to cast their ballots. Despite the protests that disrupted polls in areas like Meriwa and along the crucial Singida-Arusha road, the commission is pushing toward a final declaration.
Under Tanzanian law, INEC has up to seven days to announce the final outcome, a result which, once declared, cannot be challenged in a court of law.
As the country awaits the official announcement, the real question is not who won, but whether the results—delivered amidst blackouts, curfews, and cries of a "sham" election—will be accepted by the people of Tanzania and the wider African community committed to democratic fairness. The current tension suggests that this political chapter is far from closed.
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