President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been declared the winner of Tanzania's presidential election, securing a second term in office amid widespread unrest across the country.
The electoral commission confirmed that Samia won 98% of the vote, almost sweeping the 32 million ballots cast in the election held on Wednesday. However, international observers have raised concerns over the lack of transparency and the turmoil that has reportedly resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries.
The ongoing nationwide internet shutdown has made it challenging to verify the death toll. While the government has downplayed the scale of the violence, authorities have imposed an extended curfew in an attempt to curb the unrest. "I hereby announce Samia Suluhu Hassan as the winner of the presidential election under the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party," announced Jacobs Mwambegele, the electoral chief, when revealing the results on Saturday morning.
In Tanzania’s semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar, which elects its own leaders, incumbent president Hussein Mwinyi of CCM won nearly 80% of the vote. However, the opposition in Zanzibar has alleged “massive fraud,” according to reports by the AP news agency.
Protests have continued, with demonstrators in Dar es Salaam and other cities tearing down Samia’s posters and clashing with security forces, despite warnings from the army chief to cease the unrest. The protests, largely led by young people, are driven by claims that the election was unfair. Opposition groups accuse the government of stifling democracy by imprisoning key opposition leaders and excluding others on legal technicalities.
A spokesperson for the opposition Chadema party told AFP that "around 700" people had been killed in clashes with security forces, while a diplomatic source in Tanzania shared with the BBC that credible evidence suggests at least 500 people had died.
Foreign Minister Mahmoud Kombo Thabit described the violence as isolated incidents and asserted that security forces acted swiftly to manage the situation.
The main opposition candidates included Tundu Lissu, who faces treason charges (which he denies), and Luhaga Mpina from the ACT-Wazalendo party, who was excluded from the race on legal grounds. Sixteen smaller parties also participated, though none have historically garnered significant support.
Samia’s party, CCM, has been the dominant political force in Tanzania and has never lost an election since the country’s independence.
Ahead of the election, rights groups criticized government repression, with Amnesty International denouncing a "wave of terror," including enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings of opposition figures. The government rejected these claims, insisting that the election would be free and fair.
Samia first came to power in 2021 as Tanzania’s first female president following the death of President John Magufuli.