Tanzanian election officials say they plan to announce preliminary results Monday from Sunday's election for a new president and parliament.
Ahead of the vote, analysts predicted a tight race in the East African country, but suggested the ruling CCM party would win.
VOA correspondent Jill Craig, who visited several polling stations in Dar es Salaam Sunday, reported that voting was peaceful and appeared to run smoothly, with no incidents of violence or unrest.
The longtime ruling CCM party is facing increasing pressure to speed up the country's development and deal with a persistently high poverty rate.
The party was challenged in the polls by a coalition of opposition parties that nominated former prime minister Edward Lowassa as its presidential candidate.
Term limits
President Jakaya Kikwete is stepping down after completing two five-year terms, as allowed by the constitution. Tanzania has a long history of presidents observing term limits, unlike many other African countries.
Commission chairman Judge Damian Lubuva expressed confidence Sunday that the electoral process will be judged free and fair, despite reported problems at some polling stations in the country. Appearing on a live VOA Swahili broadcast, Judge Lubuva admitted there were some discrepancies at some polling stations, including lack of voting materials, but he said there will be no repeat voting exercises, except in constituents where the process was postponed.
Observers
More than 140 international poll observer missions were in the country to monitor Sunday's presidential, parliamentary and local elections.
According to the World Bank, Tanzania's population between the ages of 14 and 25 almost doubled in 20 years, from 4.4 million in 1990 to 8.1 million in 2010. It is expected to increase to 11 million by 2020 - numbers that should be of great interest to Tanzania’s politicians, regardless of political party.
