Tanzania, 1 November 2025 - On Saturday, Tanzania's electoral commission announced that President Samia Suluhu Hassan had secured victory in the controversial 29 October 2025 election, garnering nearly 98% of the votes.
The General Election ignited violent protests nationwide this week, after demonstrators were incensed by the electoral commission's decision to bar Hassan's two main rivals from the contest, alongside allegations of pervasive suppression.
Hassan's two main opponents edged out are Tundu Lissu of Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) and Luhaka Mpina of ACT-Wazalendo.
This outcome grants Hassan, who assumed office in 2021 following the death of her predecessor John Pombe Magufuli, a five-year mandate to lead the East African nation of 68 million people.
Unrest broke out amid Wednesday's presidential and parliamentary polls, with some protesters ripping down Hassan's banners and torching government buildings, whilst police responded with tear gas and gunfire, as reported by eyewitnesses.
CHADEMA party claimed on Friday that hundreds, about 700 people, had perished in the clashes, whereas the UN human rights office cited reliable accounts of at least 10 fatalities across three cities.
The government rebuffed the opposition's fatality figures as "vastly overstated" and dismissed any censure of its human rights practices.
Dawan Africa was unable to independently corroborate the casualty numbers, but many witnesses told international media, including Deutsche Welle that indeed some people lost lives while many others were injured.
Meanwhile, in Zanzibar, President-elect, the incumbent Dr Hussein Mwinyi of Hassan's Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) is being sworn in today Saturday despite opposition parties denouncing the poll outcome.
President Samia Secures Victory With 98% Of Votes, Tanzania's Electoral Commission Announces
Incumbent Samia Suluhu Hassan Wins Tanzania's Presidential Election
