President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been declared the winner of Tanzania's presidential election, securing another term amid unrest across the country.
According to the Election Commission, Samia won 98% of the votes in the poll conducted on Wednesday. In her victory speech on Saturday, she said the election was “free and democratic,” accusing protesters of being “unpatriotic.”
Opposition parties rejected the results of the vote, calling it a mockery of the democratic process as Samia's main rivals were either jailed or barred from running.
International observers have raised concerns about a lack of transparency and widespread unrest that has reportedly left hundreds of people dead and injured.
A nationwide internet shutdown makes it difficult to verify the death toll.
The government sought to downplay the violence, and authorities extended curfews in an attempt to quell the unrest.
Receiving her certificate of victory on Saturday, Samia, 65, said: “We thank the security forces that violence did not stop voting.
“The government strongly condemns violent incidents. These incidents were not patriotic at all,” she said.
Earlier on Saturday, Electoral Commission chief Jacobs Mwambegele declared Samia the “winner of the presidential election.”
Samia polled about 31.9 million votes, or 97.66% of the total, with turnout approaching 87% of the country's 37.6 million registered voters, the election commissioner said.
In the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar in Tanzania, which elects its own government and leader, incumbent President Hussein Mwinyi of the CCM won with almost 80% of the vote.
The opposition in Zanzibar said there had been “massive fraud,” the AP reported.
No protests were reported on Saturday morning, but tensions remained high in Dar es Salaam, where security forces set up roadblocks throughout the port city.
Demonstrators in Dar es Salaam and other cities took to the streets on Friday, tearing down Samia's posters and attacking police and polling stations despite warnings from the army chief to stop the unrest.
The demonstrations are largely led by young protesters who have called the elections unfair.
They accuse the government of undermining democracy by suppressing key opposition leaders, with one in prison and another expelled on a technicality.
A spokesman for Chadema's opposition party told the AFP news agency on Friday that “about 700” people had died in clashes with security forces, while a diplomatic source in Tanzania told the BBC there was credible evidence that at least 500 people had died.
Foreign Minister Mahmoud Kombo Thabit described the violence as “a few isolated pockets of incidents here and there” and said “security forces acted very quickly and decisively to correct the situation.”
In a statement, UN chief Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply concerned” by the situation in Tanzania, “including reports of deaths and injuries during demonstrations.” He called on all parties involved to “prevent further escalation.”
The UK, Canada and Norway expressed similar concerns, citing “credible reports of large numbers of deaths and serious injuries as a result of the security response to the protests.”
There were two main opposition contenders – Tundu Lissu, who is being held on treason charges which he denies, and Luhaga Mpina of the ACT-Wazalendo party – but he was ruled out on a legal technicality.
Sixteen fringe parties, none of which historically had significant public support, were allowed to run.
Samia's ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (SCM) party and its predecessor Thanu have dominated the country's politics and have never lost an election since independence.
Ahead of the election, human rights groups condemned government repression, with Amnesty International citing a “wave of terror” involving forced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings of opposition figures.
The government rejected the claims, and officials said the elections would be free and fair.
Samia took office in 2021 as Tanzania's first female president following the death of President John Magufuli.
Additional reporting by Akisa Wandera in Nairobi
[Getty Images/BBC]
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