Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has won a landslide election victory, according to official results released Saturday, after important competitors were detained or prohibited from participating in a vote that sparked days of violent demonstrations.
The electoral commission stated on official television that Hassan had won 97.66 percent of the vote, dominating every constituency.
State TV said that a fast swearing-in ceremony would be held on Saturday.
The biggest opposition party, Chadema, claims that hundreds of people have been slain by security forces since protests began on election day, Wednesday.
When her predecessor, John Magufuli, died unexpectedly in 2021, Hassan was promoted from vice president.
Analysts believe she has faced criticism from portions of the army and Magufuli’s loyalists and has attempted to solidify her position with a decisive victory.
According to rights groups, she oversaw a “wave of terror” in the East African country leading up to the vote, including a series of high-profile kidnappings that worsened in the last few days.
Chadema was forbidden from taking part in the election, and its leader was placed on trial for treason.
Despite a significant security presence, election day degenerated into pandemonium as mobs went to the streets around the country, pulling down her posters and storming police and polling sites, resulting in an internet blackout and curfew.
A Chadema spokesperson told AFP on Friday that “around 700” people had been murdered, based on information obtained from a network inspecting hospitals and health centers.
According to a security source and a diplomat in Dar es Salaam, there were “in the hundreds” of deaths.
Hassan has not issued any public statements since the riots began.
Her government denies using “excessive force,” but it has blocked the internet and imposed a strict lockdown and curfew nationwide, making it difficult to obtain information.
News websites have not been updated since early Wednesday, and journalists are not permitted to work freely in the country.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed “deep concern” over the situation in Tanzania, citing “reports of deaths and injuries during the demonstrations,” according to his spokeswoman.
Hassan’s son, Abdul Halim Hafidh Ameir, has been accused of directing the crackdown, prompting widespread public outrage.
There have been unsubstantiated allegations of the army joining with demonstrators in some areas, but army chief Jacob Mkunda came out strongly in support of Hassan on Thursday, branding the protesters “criminals.”
Foreign Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo stated Friday that his administration had “no figures” on who had died.
“Currently, no excessive force has been used,” he said in an interview with Al Jazeera. “There’s no number until now of any protesters killed.”
