Tanzania electoral commission streams results amid chaos
Tanzanians queue to cast their votes during the general election at a polling station in Dar es Salaam on October 29, 2025.
Tanzania’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday began streaming election results in spite of an internet blockade and street protests.
INEC officials also announced formal results from tallied presidential votes, with only four regions having successfully submitted their results so far.
Tanzanians queue to cast their votes during the general election at a polling station in Dar es Salaam on October 29, 2025.
According to the results, President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who ran on the CCM ticket, had taken an early but expected lead.
Vote counting was still on in different parts of the country after some regions also plunged into a blackout for several hours.
This follows events on Wednesday, the election day, in which protesters damaged some polling material and blocked roads in major cities before police responded by imposing a curfew.
Election protests in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on October 29, 2025.
Activists speaking in neighbouring Kenya had condemned the polls as a sham after authorities barred two of the strongest opposition parties from fronting candidates.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), an NGO, raised the alarm over the absence of credible election observation groups in Tanzania’s polls.
“No credible observer mission is present in Tanzania. Belgium, Sweden, Germany, and Ireland have all withdrawn from the elections. The US is monitoring the elections although it is not providing any traditional observers,” said Ernest Konel of the KHRC.
“The EU delegation has no proper observation and only maintains a diplomatic tradition of diplo watches. The United Nations Development Programmes is not participating at this time round.”
A fire lit during election protests in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on October 29, 2025.
However, the African Union, Southern African Development Community, the East African Community and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) deployed observation missions, drawing criticism for legitimising a flawed process.
Last week, INEC announced that it will declare the winner of the presidential election within 72 hours after voting concludes on October 29.
A woman casts her vote during Tanzania's general election at a polling station in Dar es Salaam on October 29, 2025.
According to INEC, more than 37.6 million registered voters were eligible to cast their ballots across 99,000 polling stations nationwide. Polls opened at 7am local time and closed at 4pm with counting beginning immediately after.
Preliminary results were expected within 24 hours, though INEC has up to seven days to declare their final outcome, which cannot be challenged in a court of law.
According to INEC, results for parliamentary and councillor positions will be announced immediately after vote tallying is completed in the respective constituencies.
Riot police disperse protesters in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on October 29, 2025.
Protests, however, disrupted the polls after rowdy youths stormed stations in various parts of the country, destroying ballot boxes and scattering the ballot papers
In addition, protests have been reported in the Meriwa area located on the main road between Dodoma and Dar es Salaam where police have dispersed the demonstrators. Police have also been reported to have closed the Singida-Arusha road for fear of further protests.
