Tanzania’s President, Samia Suluhu Hassan has been declared the winner of the country’s disputed presidential election with nearly 98 percent of the vote, securing another term in office amid days of unrest across the country.
The final result announced by the electoral commission on Saturday, November 1, 2025, showed Hassan had won 97.66 percent of Wednesday’s vote, dominating every constituency. Voter turnout was 86.8%.
Jacobs Mwambegele, the Electoral Chief, said while announcing the results, “I hereby announce Samia Suluhu Hassan as the winner of the presidential election under the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party.”
With her landslide victory, Hassan becomes the country’s first elected female President. She previously served as Vice President from 2010 to 2021 and first assumed the presidency in March 2021 following the death of then-President John Magufuli from heart disease, marking a historic milestone as Tanzania’s first female Head of state.
The election for President and parliament set off days of violent protests as demonstrators took to the streets of major cities to protest against the barring of Hassan’s main rivals from running and what they described as widespread repression.
Hassan, who in 2021 was elevated from Vice President on the sudden death of her predecessor, John Magufuli, faced 16 candidates from smaller parties.
Chadema leader Tundu Lissu has been jailed for months, charged with treason after he called for electoral reforms that he said were a prerequisite for free and fair elections. He denies the charges. Another opposition figure, Luhaga Mpina of the ACT-Wazalendo group, was barred from running.
While she initially pledged to institute democratic reforms, Hassan’s critics accuse her administration of becoming increasingly repressive, suppressing the opposition and stifling the media.
Rights groups allege that Hassan oversaw a “wave of terror” in the country before the vote, including a string of high-profile abductions that escalated in the final days. The government has rejected criticisms of its human rights record.
Despite a heavy security presence, election day descended into chaos, with some demonstrators tearing down banners of Hassan and setting fire to government buildings, and police firing tear gas and gunshots, according to reports quoting witnesses.
Chadema, the main opposition force which was barred from taking part in the election, told a news agency on Friday that “about 700” people had been killed, based on figures gathered from a network checking hospitals and health clinics.
Meanwhile, the UN human rights office said credible reports indicated at least 10 people were killed in three cities. Foreign Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo told a news agency on Friday that the authorities have acted appropriately and the election was conducted fairly. “No excessive force has been used,” he said, adding that the government has “no official figures” on any protesters killed. “I’ve not seen these 700 anywhere,”he stressed.
The upheaval follows similar youth-led demonstrations in nations such as Madagascar and Nepal, whose governments have been toppled, and in Morocco and Kenya.
With Tanzania’s military having agreed to work with law-enforcement agencies to quell the protests, Hassan’s hold on power doesn’t appear to be under immediate threat.
Chadema Slams Tanzania’s Election Results
After the election results announcement, John Kitoka, Chadema’s Director of foreign affairs said, “Fake results from a fake election.”
“This is a coronation. It lacks legitimacy and we will not recognize the results. We will continue to resist this fake election and we will not back down.”
John Kitoka
State media disclosed that a swearing-in ceremony would take place later on Saturday.
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