Tanzania was on lockdown with a communications blackout Thursday, a day after elections turned into violent chaos with unconfirmed reports of many dead.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan had sought to solidify her position and silence criticism within her party in the virtually uncontested polls, with the main challengers either jailed or disqualified.

In the run-up, rights groups condemned a "wave of terror" in the east African nation, which has seen a string of high-profile abductions that ramped up in the final days.

A heavy security presence on Wednesday failed to deter hundreds protesting in economic hub Dar es Salaam and elsewhere, some singing: "We want our country back".

Unverified images on social media showed initially small protests escalated during the day with reports of polic

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