Tanzania Election, Samia Suluhu Hassan, has been declared the winner of the country’s highly disputed election, securing more than 97% of the vote amid a wave of violent protests.
The result, announced by the national electoral commission, grants Hassan who first assumed office in 2021 after the death of her predecessor a new five-year term to lead the East African nation of 68 million people.
Tanzania Election: The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party extended its decades-long grip on power, despite growing public frustration and the rise of popular opposition figures calling for political reform. A victory of this scale is unusual in the region comparable only to those claimed by Rwanda’s authoritarian leader, Paul Kagame.
Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, reported a pattern of enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, and extrajudicial killings ahead of the vote. In June, a UN panel expressed alarm over more than 200 disappearances since 2019, citing increasing repression in the lead-up to the election.
Tanzania Election
Violence erupted on election day, as protesters tore down campaign banners, set fire to government buildings, and clashed with police who responded with teargas and gunfire. Demonstrators were angered by the exclusion of Hassan’s two main challengers, accusing authorities of rigging the process.
Tanzania Election: Opposition leader Tundu Lissu of the Chadema party was arrested in April on treason and cybercrime charges, and his party was later disqualified from participating after calling for an election boycott. Another key opponent, Luhaga Mpina of ACT-Wazalendo, was also barred, leaving Hassan to face only minor candidates. (Source)
According to Chadema, hundreds of people have been killed during the unrest, while the UN human rights office has confirmed at least 10 deaths in three cities. The Tanzanian government has rejected the opposition’s claims, calling them “hugely exaggerated” and dismissing concerns over its human rights record.
