Tanzania’s Election Hands Hassan 97% in Vote Without Main Opponents

Overview

• The electoral commission, in an announcement on state television by Jacobs Mwambegele, declared Samia Suluhu Hassan the winner with 97.66% for the ruling CCM.
• Two principal challengers were arrested or disqualified before polling, leaving the race without the main opposition parties.
• Protests erupted nationwide after Wednesday’s vote, with reports of tear gas and live fire, a nighttime curfew in Dar es Salaam, and an ongoing internet blackout.
• Chadema says about 700 people have been killed based on health‑sector reporting, a figure not independently verified, while the UN confirmed at least 10 deaths in Dar es Salaam, Shinyanga, and Morogoro.
• The government denied using excessive force and described heightened security measures as temporary, as European Parliament figures criticized the election as a fraud.