Tanzania shuts down internet access on election day amid unrest
Tanzania's government restricted internet and social-media access on October 29, 2025, as citizens voted in a general election marked by protests, cutting national internet traffic by nearly 90 percent and leaving both local and foreign journalists unable to report on the vote and its aftermath in real time.1
- Country
- Tanzania (RSF 2026 rank: 117th of 180)
- Where
- TZ
- Level of government
- National
- Tactics
- Shutdowns and blocking, Access bans
- Stage
- Silence (see the ladder)
- Head of government at the time
- Samia Suluhu Hassan
- Issue of the day
- The shutdown coincided with a disputed general election and protests against President Samia Suluhu Hassan's government, which Human Rights Watch later said was followed by killings and broader restrictions once the results were announced.
- Outcome
- Unknown. Authorities did not explain the shutdown, and disruptions to social platforms continued for several days after the vote.
- Era
- The 2020s
What happened
On October 29, 2025, as Tanzanians voted in a general election, national internet traffic began falling sharply around 12:30 p.m. local time, dropping to nearly 90 percent below the previous week's levels, according to monitoring cited by TechCabal; three journalists in Dar es Salaam and Arusha said social media platforms were unreachable without a virtual private network. Neither the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority nor telecom operators responded publicly to questions about the outage, and Tanzanian authorities did not issue a statement explaining it. Human Rights Watch reported on November 4, 2025 that the shutdown prevented media from reporting on the election and the protests that followed, and said authorities appeared to have also blocked foreign journalists from covering the vote by not responding to their accreditation applications.1234
What reason was given
Tanzanian authorities did not issue a public statement explaining the internet restrictions.1234
What changed for reporting
Local and international journalists lost the ability to report in real time on the election and the protests that followed, while some foreign correspondents said their accreditation requests to cover the vote went unanswered.34
Timeline
2025
Who acted
| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Samia Suluhu Hassan | other | President of Tanzania |
| Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority | enforced | Telecommunications regulator |
Sources
- Tanzania: Killings, Crackdown Follow Disputed Elections
- Tanzania restricts internet as citizens vote in general election
Claims cited
- National internet traffic began falling sharply around midday on election day, dropping close to 90 percent below normal levels.
national internet traffic began to plunge around 12:30 p.m., falling to nearly 90% below last week's levels.
Tanzania restricts internet as citizens vote in general election, TechCabal, 2025-10-29. Claim 467, checked 2026-09-22. - Tanzanian authorities did not issue any statement addressing the internet outage.
Tanzanian authorities have not issued a statement on the outage.
Tanzania restricts internet as citizens vote in general election, TechCabal, 2025-10-29. Claim 468, checked 2026-09-22. - HRW said the shutdown prevented media from reporting on the election and the ensuing protests.
The lockdown prevented the media from being able to report on the elections and the ensuing protests.
Tanzania: Killings, Crackdown Follow Disputed Elections, Human Rights Watch, 2025-11-04. Claim 469, checked 2026-09-22. - HRW said authorities appeared to have blocked foreign journalists from covering the election by not responding to accreditation requests.
The authorities appear to have blocked foreign journalists from covering the elections by failing in some instances to respond to accreditation applications.
Tanzania: Killings, Crackdown Follow Disputed Elections, Human Rights Watch, 2025-11-04. Claim 470, checked 2026-09-22.