President Samia Suluhu Hassan declared winner of Tanzania election with 98 per cent of vote

Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been declared the winner of the October 29 election, securing 98 per cent of the vote, the country’s electoral commission announced on Saturday.

The outcome comes after a tense week marked by violent protests and clashes across the East African nation of 68 million people.

President Samia, who assumed the presidency in 2021 following the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli, will now serve a full five-year term.

Her victory follows a contested election in which the two main opposition candidates, Chadema’s Tundu Lissu and Luhaga Mpina of ACT-Wazalendo, were barred from running, a move that sparked widespread public outrage.

During Wednesday’s vote, protests erupted in several cities. Witnesses reported demonstrators tearing down banners supporting Suluhu and setting government buildings on fire.

Police responded with teargas and live gunfire in an effort to control the unrest.

The demonstrators voiced anger over what they described as repression and the electoral commission’s exclusion of key challengers.

Tanzania’s main opposition party, Chadema, claimed on Friday that hundreds of people had died during the protests.

However, the UN Human Rights Office said that credible reports pointed to at least 10 deaths in three separate cities.

The government also dismissed the opposition’s death toll, calling it “hugely exaggerated”, and rejected criticisms regarding its human rights record.

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