The president of TanzaniaSamia Suluhu Hassan, achieved a resounding electoral victory with more than 97.66% in the voting results. Last Wednesday’s elections marked by the exclusion of opposition candidates and a wave of violent protests.
“I declare Samia Suluhu Hassan president-elect of the United Republic of Tanzania through the CCM party,” electoral commission chairman Jacobs Mwambegele said on state television. The head of the organization assured that the candidate won 31,913,866 of the 32,678,844 votes cast.
The final data was expected hours later, but state television anticipated a brief swearing-in ceremony in light of the presumed landslide victory. The election was marred by complaints from the main opposition partyChadema, who states that hundreds of people died at the hands of security forces since the outbreak of the protests.
Hassan has not spoken publicly since the start of the unrest. His administration denies the use of “excessive force“, although imposed confinement, curfew and an internet block throughout the countrymaking access to information difficult and restricting the work of journalists.
The Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterresexpressed his “deep concern” about the situation, including reports of deaths and injuries during the demonstrations, according to his spokesperson. Chadema reported about 700 deaths, according to figures collected in hospitals and clinics, while security sources confirmed to AFP that the deaths were counted “in the hundreds.”
The spokesperson of the political party, John Kitokapointed out that “In Dar es Salaam the figure is around 350 deaths and in Mwanza it exceeds 200. Adding other regions, the total reaches around 700”. Kitoka warned that the real figure could be even higher due to alleged executions during night curfew.
During the campaign, Samia Suluhu Hassan prevented Chadema from participating and prosecuted its leader for treason. Human rights organizations denounced a “wave of terror” prior to the election, with high-profile kidnappings and repression, and they pointed out the president’s son, Abdul Halim Hafidh Ameir, to supervise the actions against the protesters.
In the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar, the ruling CCM party was declared winner of the local elections just one day after the polls.. The opposition organization ACT-Wazalendo rejected the results, denouncing electoral fraud, expulsion of observers and the existence of multiple voting without identity verification, according to one of its leaders.
Hassan, who took power after the death of John Magufuli in 2021, faced internal resistance within the Army and his predecessor’s allies. Despite this, Army chief Jacob Mkunda backed Hassan and called the protesters “criminals”.
Tension in the country increased after the president Samia Suluhu Hassanof the Revolution Party (CCM), will seek to consolidate its mandate in elections marked by the exclusion and arrest of its main contenders.
After election day, crowds tore down official propaganda and attacked election headquarters and police posts, forcing the Hassan administration to decree a curfew and cut off internet services.
The United Nations statement urged all parties to exercise restraint, reject violence and engage in inclusive and constructive dialogue to address grievances and avoid further escalation. The UN also expressed its willingness to “support efforts to foster dialogue, strengthen democratic governance and promote sustainable peace in Tanzania”.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, assured that his government does not have official death tolls and reiterated in an interview with Al Jazeera: “So far, no excessive force has been used”.
(With information from AFP)
