Hassan wins after deadly unrest

TANZANIAN President Samia Suluhu Hassan won a landslide election victory, official results showed yesterday, after key candidates were jailed or barred from a vote that has triggered days of violent protests.

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The final result showed Hassan won 97.66% of the vote, dominating every constituency, the electoral commission announced on state television.

A quick swearing-in ceremony took place yesterday, state TV said.

The main opposition party, Chadema, said hundreds of people had been killed by security forces since protests broke out on election day on Wednesday.

Hassan was elevated from vice-president on the sudden death of her predecessor, John Magufuli, in 2021.

She has faced opposition from parts of the army and Magufuli’s allies, and sought to cement her position with an emphatic win, analysts say.

Rights groups say she oversaw a “wave of terror” in the east African nation ahead of the vote, including a string of high-profile abductions that escalated in the final days.

Chadema was barred from taking part in the election and its leader put on trial for treason.