Tanzania’s electoral commission has declared President Samia Suluhu Hassan winner of the country’s disputed general election, securing nearly 98% of the votes.
The announcement, made early Saturday, came amid widespread protests and allegations of voter suppression and violence, with opposition groups and rights organizations reporting hundreds of deaths.
John Kitoka, spokesperson for the main opposition Chadema party said that around 700 people were killed across the country, citing figures gathered from hospitals and health clinics.
“As we speak, the figure for deaths in Dar [es Salaam] is around 350 and for Mwanza it is 200-plus. Added to figures from other places around the country, the overall figure is around 700,” Kitoka said, adding that the toll could be higher due to ongoing killings during the night-time curfew imposed since Wednesday.
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A security source also confirmed that the number of deaths may range between 700 and 800 nationwide.
Amnesty International said it had verified at least 100 deaths linked to the election violence.
Kitoka accused security forces of targeting protesters and demanded the formation of a transitional government to organize free and fair elections.
“Stop police brutality. Respect the will of the people which is electoral justice,” he said.
The government has, however, dismissed the opposition’s death toll as “hugely exaggerated” and defended the conduct of security agencies. Foreign Affairs Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo insisted that only “a few small pockets” of unrest were caused by criminal elements, denying claims of excessive force.
The authorities also imposed a nationwide curfew and restricted internet access in the wake of the unrest.
Reacting to the developments, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for a thorough and impartial investigation into all allegations of excessive use of force.
President Hassan, who ran under the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, is seeking her first full term in office after assuming power in March 2021 following the death of former President John Pombe Magufuli.
Sixteen other candidates contested the election, but the absence of key opposition figures, barred, disqualified, or entangled in legal disputes cast a shadow over the credibility of the poll.
Protests erupted on election day as demonstrators decried what they described as the government’s systematic stifling of opposition voices and suppression of dissent.
