Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan won a landslide victory as elections turned violent, raising tensions and drawing global attention to the country’s political unrest.
Hassan was declared the landslide winner of an election that set off deadly protests across the country this week over the exclusion of her main challengers.
The East African nation’s electoral commission said Hassan, who took power in 2021 after the death in office of her predecessor, received more than 31.9 million votes, or 97.66% of the total, handing her a five-year term.
Hassan, 65, who first assumed office in 2021 following the sudden death of President John Magufuli, has faced internal opposition from factions within the ruling party and the military.
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However, the opposition slammed the vote, with leader John Mwinyi declaring, “This election was neither free nor fair. Tanzanians deserve better than violence and intimidation at the polls.”
The election drew global attention, with the United Nations and African Union urging calm and calling for dialogue between Hassan’s government and the opposition.
“We urge all parties to respect democratic norms and ensure the safety of voters,” said a UN spokesperson, highlighting growing concern over the violent incidents during the vote.
Protests erupted during Wednesday’s vote for president and parliament, with some demonstrators tearing down banners of Hassan and setting fire to government buildings and police firing tear gas and gunshots, according to witnesses.
Demonstrators are angry about the electoral commission’s exclusion of Hassan’s two biggest challengers from the race and what human rights groups have said are widespread arrests and abductions of opponents.
In a speech from the administrative capital Dodoma after being certified as the winner, Hassan said the actions of the protesters were “neither responsible nor patriotic.”
“When it comes to the security of Tanzania, there is no debate – we must use all available security avenues to ensure the country remains safe,” she said.
Opposition says hundreds were killed in protests
Tanzania’s main opposition party CHADEMA – which was barred from the election for refusing to sign a code of conduct and had its leader arrested for treason in April – said on Friday that hundreds of people had been killed in the protests.
The U.N. human rights office said credible reports indicated that at least 10 people were killed in three cities.
The government dismissed the opposition’s death toll as “hugely exaggerated” and has rejected criticism of its human rights record. Reuters could not independently verify casualty figures.
The authorities have imposed a nationwide curfew since Wednesday and restricted access to the internet. Many international flights have been cancelled, and operations at Dar es Salaam’s port, a hub for fuel imports and exports of metals mined across the region, have been disrupted.
Much of the public outrage has been directed at Hassan’s son, Abdul Halim Hafidh Ameir, who has been accused by critics of coordinating the crackdown.
There were unconfirmed reports that some army units sided with protesters, but on Thursday, October 30, Army Chief Jacob Mkunda publicly reaffirmed his loyalty to the president, denouncing demonstrators as “criminals.”
Foreign Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, speaking to Al Jazeera, dismissed reports of mass casualties. “Currently, no excessive force has been used,” he said. “There’s no number until now of any protesters killed.”
Meanwhile, State TV reported that Hassan would be swiftly sworn in following the announcement of results.
