Tanzania Election Result Triggered Widespread Protests and Accusations of Repression
Tanzania Election Result Triggered Widespread Protests and Accusations of Repression
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President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been declared the winner of Tanzania’s October 29 2025 presidential election with approximately 97.66% of the vote, according to the national electoral commission, as reported by the Reuters.
The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party has maintained power since independence. The vote was significantly contested: Tanzania’s main opposition party CHADEMA and its leader Tundu Lissu were barred from participation after Lissu was charged with treason, and another candidate from ACT–Wazalendo was similarly excluded, Al Jazeera reported.
Mass protests erupted across the country as the results were announced, especially in Dar es Salaam and Mwanza. Chadema asserts that around 700 people were killed in clashes with security forces, while the United Nations Human Rights Office puts the confirmed death toll at at least 10 people, according to The Guardian. The government dismissed the higher figures as “hugely exaggerated.”
In response to the unrest, authorities imposed a nationwide curfew, disrupted internet access, and deployed military units alongside the police. Observers have described the election as lacking genuine competition, raising concerns that the vote was less of a democratic exercise and more of a consolidation of power.
Analysts warn that the combination of a lopsided result and a harsh security reaction could weaken Tanzania’s reputation for relative political stability and may signal an increase in authoritarian governance under President Hassan’s new term.
