Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been declared the winner of the country’s presidential election, securing an overwhelming 98 percent of the votes cast.
The National Electoral Commission announced on Saturday that Hassan, the candidate of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, dominated nearly all of the 32 million ballots cast in Wednesday’s poll.
“I hereby declare Samia Suluhu Hassan as the duly elected President of the United Republic of Tanzania under the CCM party,” said Jacobs Mwambegele, the country’s electoral chief.
However, international observers have voiced concerns over the transparency of the electoral process, citing reports of widespread unrest that allegedly claimed more than 500 lives and left many others injured.
The election was marked by controversy, with several opposition leaders reportedly barred from contesting. The main opposition party, Chadema, boycotted the poll after its leader, Tundu Lissu, was jailed on treason charges following his calls for electoral reforms.
Similarly, Luhaga Mpina, the presidential candidate of the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT-Wazalendo), the country’s second-largest opposition party, was disqualified by the electoral body.
This marks President Hassan’s first electoral victory since she assumed office in 2021, following the death of then-President John Magufuli, under whom she served as vice president.
Initially praised for her conciliatory leadership style and efforts to reopen Tanzania to foreign investment, Hassan earned international goodwill by restoring ties with donors and re-engaging with global financial institutions such as the IMF and World Bank.
However, critics have accused her administration of targeting opposition figures and being complicit in unexplained abductions of political activists
