Tanzanians began voting on Wednesday in presidential and parliamentary elections with no suspense, as the president's main opponents were respectively disqualified and imprisoned while Amnesty denounced a "wave of terror" sponsored by the government.

Samia Suluhu Hassan, 65, was promoted, without an election, from vice president to the highest office following the death in 2021 of authoritarian President John Magufuli. Analysts believe she is counting on her anticipated victory to silence criticism within her own party.

Tanzania's first female president, initially praised for easing restrictions imposed by her predecessor, is now accused of severe repression.

Citizens began voting around 7:00 AM (4:00 AM GMT), AFP journalists observed in the economic capital Dar es Salaam and in Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous archipelago that also elects its own president and members of parliament.

Most foreign media outlets were not granted accreditation to cover the election in mainland Tanzania.

The main opposition party, Chadema, was barred from the elections for refusing to sign the electoral code, which it claimed did not include the reforms it demanded. Its leader, Tundu Lissu, was arrested in April and is on trial for treason. He faces the death penalty.

The only other serious opposition candidate, Luhaga Mpina of ACT Wazalendo, was disqualified on procedural grounds.

Even members of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party are not immune to repression if they criticize the system: Humphrey Hesron Polepole, a former Tanzanian ambassador turned critic of the regime, has been missing for weeks. His brother posted a video that went viral of the house where he lived, with broken doors and a blood-stained floor.

Last week, Amnesty International denounced a "wave of terror" marked by "enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, acts of torture and (...) extrajudicial executions" ahead of the election.

The Tanganyika Bar Association - named after the former British colony before it merged with Zanzibar to become Tanzania - claims to have documented 83 disappearances of opposition figures in mainland Tanzania (which excludes Zanzibar) since Ms. Hassan came to power in 2021.

- "New standard" -

Tanzania, an East African country of approximately 68 million inhabitants, is sadly accustomed to political repression. After its independence in 1961, the socialist leader Julius Nyerere established a one-party regime, whose authoritarianism persisted after the introduction of democracy in 1992.

Samia Suluhu Hassan, for her part, did nothing to get rid of the "thugs" with whom her predecessor John Magufuli had placed the intelligence services, said an analyst from the economic capital Dar es Salaam, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.

"We thought Magufuli was a blip (...) I fear this is now the new normal," he lamented.

Protests are rare in Tanzania. According to polls, Tanzanians care more about jobs than democracy.

However, the country recorded 5.5% growth last year according to the World Bank, thanks to the strength of its agricultural, tourism, and mining sectors. During the election campaign, Samia Suluhu Hassan promised major infrastructure projects and universal healthcare.

However, police said they arrested 17 people last weekend in the Kagera region (northwest), and are preparing for unrest on Wednesday.

"I want to assure citizens that there will be no threat to their safety on election day," Ms. Hassan stated at a campaign rally last month. "We are well prepared in terms of security. Those who did not participate in the election should not try to disrupt our election."

In 2024, the CCM, his party, won nearly 99% of the seats in local elections described as manipulated by the opposition.