Tanzania polls open with opposition barred

POLLS opened yesterday in Tanzania elections in which the main challengers were either jailed or barred from running, with rights groups decrying a "wave of terror".

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President Samia Suluhu Hassan, 65, is determined to cement her position with an emphatic victory that will silence critics within her own party, analysts say.

She was elevated from vice-president in 2021 on the death of her iron-fisted predecessor, John Magufuli, but faced opposition as the country's first female leader.

Hassan, who comes from the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar, was initially feted by democratic campaigners for easing restrictions on the opposition and media, but hopes soon faded.

Analysts expect a tighter race due to the island's greater degree of freedom. But foreign journalists have been effectively barred from travelling to the mainland to observe the vote there.