Curfew Ends in Dar es Salaam as Tanzania Completes Controversial Elections

Tue Nov 04 2025 22:11:30 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

After significant unrest and fatalities during the election week, authorities in Tanzania have lifted the nighttime curfew in the capital, signaling a return to normalcy amidst ongoing mourning and unrest.

The Tanzanian government has lifted a night-time curfew in Dar es Salaam following deadly protests triggered by controversial elections. As shops begin to reopen and traffic resumes, families continue to mourn lost relatives while facing ongoing shortages. Observers have criticized the elections for falling short of democratic standards, and human rights organizations have reported widespread abuses. President Samia Suluhu Hassan, sworn in amid violence, faces calls for investigation into the unrest.

Tanzanian police have lifted a night-time curfew imposed since last Wednesday in the main city Dar es Salaam following deadly election protests, as life slowly returns to normal across the country.

Following the unrest, the internet was cut nationwide and most shops in Dar es Salaam closed amid acute shortages of basic essentials and soaring prices. Schools shut and public transport came to a halt.

On Tuesday, some shops reopened and traffic resumed but with queues persisting at some petrol stations in Dar es Salaam.

Families continue to search for or bury relatives killed in the clashes between the security forces and opposition supporters who denounced the poll as a sham.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in on Monday after being declared the winner of last Wednesday's election with 98% of the vote.

Observers from the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) - a regional bloc which includes Tanzania - said in a preliminary report that the election fell short of democratic standards.

The two main opposition leaders were unable to contest the poll - Tundu Lissu is in detention on treason charges while Luhaga Mpina's candidacy was rejected on technical grounds.

Lissu's Chadema party reported no less than 800 deaths by Saturday, while a diplomatic source noted credible evidence indicating at least 500 fatalities.

Reports from the UN highlighted at least 10 deaths in three cities. The government, however, has not released any casualty figures.

On Tuesday, a doctor at Muhimbili Hospital explained that vehicles marked Municipal Burial Services had been collecting bodies of those believed to have died during protests, often taking them to unknown locations without informing relatives.

Campaign group Human Rights Watch criticized the response to protests, labeling it abusive, while Amnesty International expressed alarm regarding the use of lethal force.

President Huassan acknowledged the violence in her inauguration speech, attributing responsibility to some foreign nationals, although her government has sought to downplay the scale of the unrest.

Initially seen as a reformer, President Samia faces scrutiny over her increasingly authoritarian governance following her predecessor's death.