Tanzania votes: Will Zanzibar offer a sliver of true democracy?

Police officers cast their early votes at the Urusi polling station in Mpendae, Urban West Region in Zanzibar on October 28, 2025. 
 

Photo credit: Jesse Mikofu | Nation Media Group

Tanzanians are voting in what could be the least competitive election yet, but which has brought more tensions than any other in the country’s 30-year history of multiparty politics.

However, it is in Zanzibar where a real contest is expected. Of the 37.6 million registered voters, just over 900,000 are in the archipelago.