Sawt Falasteen - Low turnout as Tanzania votes without an opposition

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 some of the city's busiest areas were virtually empty an hour after opening, AFP journalists saw, despite being busy at that time during previous elections.

"We are going to mobilise people from the streets and their homes to come and vote," an official from the ruling Revolution Party (Chama Cha Mapinduzi: CCM) in Temeke district of Dar es Salaam told AFP, on condition of anonymity.

"We need to rescue the situation because some are hesitating," the official added.

A food vendor, who gave only her first name Saada, 40, said she was too scared too vote.

"I could not go out today because of fear of violence," she told AFP.

- 'Wave of terror' -

Amnesty International has denounced a "wave of terror" ahead of the election including "enforced disappearance and torture... and extrajudicial killings of opposition figures and activists".

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

Her main challenger, Tundu Lissu, is on trial for treason, facing a potential death penalty. His party, Chadema, is barred from running.

The only other serious candidate, Luhaga Mpina of ACT-Wazalendo, was disqualified on technicalities.

Hassan 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.

She was initially feted by democratic campaigners for easing restrictions on the opposition and media, but hopes soon faded.

Human Rights Watch said "the authorities have suppressed the political opposition and critics of the ruling party, stifled the media, and failed to ensure the electoral commission's independence".

There are fears that even members of the ruling party are being targeted.

Humphrey Polepole, a former CCM spokesman and ambassador to Cuba, went missing from his home this month after resigning and criticising Hassan. His family found blood stains in his home.

The Tanganyika Law Society says it has confirmed 83 abductions since Hassan came to power, with another 20 reported in recent weeks.

AFP saw polls open in Zanzibar, where analysts expect a tighter race due to the island's greater degree of freedom.

But most foreign journalists have been effectively barred from travelling to the mainland to observe the vote there.

- 'New normal' -

Hassan has done nothing to remove the "thugs" with which Magufuli stacked the intelligence service, said an analyst in the country's economic hub of Dar es Salaam, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisals.

They are laser-focused on any sign of internal dissent and throttled the opposition ahead of the last election in 2020.

"We thought Magufuli was a blip and the 2020 elections were an abnormality. My worry is that this is the new normal," the analyst said.

Protests are rare in Tanzania, in part thanks to a relatively healthy economy, which grew by 5.5 percent last year according to the World Bank, on the back of strong agriculture, tourism and mining sectors.

Hassan has promised big infrastructure projects and universal health insurance in a bid to win over voters.

But police said they arrested 17 people this weekend in the northwestern Kagera region who were planning unrest on election day.

"We are well-prepared for security. Those who have failed to participate in the competition should not seek to disrupt our election."

A.Suleiman--SF-PST