Tanzania’s main opposition party CHADEMA has rejected President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s landslide re-election, calling the results “completely fabricated” after key challengers were barred from the ballot and nationwide protests turned deadly.
Hassan won 97.66% of the vote, according to the National Electoral Commission. CHADEMA—excluded from the race after refusing to sign an electoral code of conduct, with its leader Tundu Lissu arrested on treason charges in April—said on X that “no genuine election took place in Tanzania” and urged supporters to reject the outcome.
Unrest flared during Wednesday’s presidential and parliamentary vote, with witnesses reporting demonstrators tearing down campaign banners and setting government buildings ablaze as police used tear gas and live fire. CHADEMA said on Friday that hundreds had been killed; the U.N. human rights office cited credible reports of at least 10 deaths in three cities. Reuters could not independently verify casualty figures. The government dismissed the opposition’s toll as “hugely exaggerated” and rejected criticism of its human rights record.
In a speech from the administrative capital Dodoma after being certified the winner, Hassan condemned the unrest as “neither responsible nor patriotic,” saying authorities would use “all available security avenues” to keep the country safe.
Authorities have imposed a nationwide curfew since Wednesday and curbed internet access. The disruption has led to cancellations of many international flights and hindered operations at Dar es Salaam’s port, a key hub for regional fuel imports and mineral exports.
There was no immediate government response to CHADEMA’s latest statement.
