President Suluhu declared winner by landslide as Tanzania plunge into post-election chaos

Tanzania’s electoral commission has this morning declared incumbent President Samia Suluhu Hassan the winner of the presidential poll by a landslide of 98 per cent even as the country plunged into widespread post-election chaos with as majority claim the exercise was not free and fair.

According to the electoral commission, Samia won 98 per cent of the votes, nearly sweeping the 32 million ballots cast in Wednesday’s election.

“I hereby announce Samia Suluhu Hassan as the winner of the presidential election under the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party,” Jacobs Mwambegele, the electoral chief, said while announcing the results on Saturday morning.

International observers have expressed concern over the lack of transparency and widespread turmoil that has reportedly left hundreds people dead and hundreds injured.

The nationwide internet shutdown is making it difficult to verify the death toll. The government has sought to play down the scale of the violence – and authorities have extended a curfew in a bid to quell the unrest.

In Tanzania’s semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar – which elects its own government and leader – CCM’s Hussein Mwinyi, who is the incumbent president, won with nearly 80 per cent of the vote.

The result hands Suluhu, who took power in 2021 after the death in office of her predecessor, a five-year term to govern a country of 68 million people

Despite the highly disputed poll that saw President Suluhu announced the winner, the international community has trained its focus on Tanzania amid reports that over 700 people have been killed in the last 3 days since October 29, 2025 when the elections were held.

At the same time, Tanzania’s main opposition party has claimed that “around 700” people were killed in protests following this week’s disputed elections.

“As we speak, the number of deaths in Dar-es-Salaam is around 350 and there are more than 200 in Mwanza,” Chadema party spokesperson John Kitoka told international media, referring to a city in northern Tanzania.

“If we add the figures from other places in the country, we arrive at a total of around 700 deaths.”

President Suluhu has secured a five-year term but with credibility concerns lingering over the elections.

International rights groups have criticised the electoral process which has been marred by low voter turnout, a night curfew and internet shutdown as protesters have taken to the streets of major cities for the third day since election day.

For the third day running, Tanzania descended into unrest as protests over disputed election results spread across the country, prompting the deployment of the military, an internet blackout, and the closure of schools and universities.

On Thursday, October 30, 2025, protesters who defied a curfew in the Mbagala, Gongo la Mboto and Kiluvya neighbourhoods of Dar-es-Salaam were met with tear gas and the sounds of gunfire.

Hundreds of demonstrators clashed with police in Dar es Salaam, the nation’s commercial capital, demanding that the electoral commission halt the release of results from Wednesday’s vote a contest widely criticised as unfair after opposition leaders were barred or detained.

State television continued broadcasting early results showing the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), in power since independence in 1961, extending its dominance.

Incumbent President Samia Suluhu Hassan faced little competition after candidates from the two main opposition parties were blocked from running, leaving her to compete against 16 minor figures who barely campaigned.

In the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar, calm returned under a heavy military presence as the electoral commission announced that incumbent President Hussein Mwinyi had secured 78.8 per cent of the vote.
Opposition parties denounced the results as “massively fraudulent” and vowed to announce their next course of action.

The streets of Dar es Salaam erupted into violence from Wednesday onward, as young protesters torched vehicles, a gas station, and police stations. Several neighborhoods were left in ruins.

Amnesty International reported at least two deaths, while a diplomatic source suggested that unconfirmed reports more than 30 fatalities nationwide.

As protests spread to other cities, the government ordered universities to postpone reopening and extended a security lockdown.

Soldiers were deployed across major intersections and highways, stopping vehicles for inspection. Residents described seeing tanks near the city center and hearing sporadic gunfire through Thursday night.

Army chief Gen. Jacob John Mkunda appeared on state television, condemning protesters as “criminals” and warning that the defense forces would take “legal action” against anyone disturbing peace.

“The army has controlled the situation for now and continues to monitor developments,” he said.