President Samia Suluhu Hassan is expected to win following the disqualification of the leading opposition candidates.
Internet service was disrupted across the country, monitor group NetBlocks said, as unverified videos of young protesters throwing rocks at security forces and a petrol station in flames circulated on social media.
Hundreds of protesters were marching towards the Selander Bridge that leads to Dar es Salaam’s centre, said a witness who asked not to be named.
Witnesses reported violent protests in at least four neighbourhoods of Dar es Salaam, while video from BBC Swahili showed police using tear gas to disperse protesters in another part of the city.
Spokespersons for the government and police did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and Reuters could not confirm the authenticity of the videos on social media.
The vote is being held without the leading opposition party, CHADEMA, whose leader, Tundu Lissu, is on trial for treason, which he has denied. The electoral commission disqualified CHADEMA in April after it refused to sign an electoral code of conduct.
–Reuters–
