World

Tanzania's Hassan wins election marred by violence

By AAP Newswire

Nov 1, 2025

People protest in the streets of Arusha, Tanzania, on election day — Protesters in Tanzania are angry about two major opposition leaders being barred from the election. -AP

Tanzania's electoral commission have declared that President Samia Suluhu Hassan has won with nearly 98 per cent of the vote in an election that set off violent protests across the country.

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The result hands Hassan, who took power in 2021 after the death in office of her predecessor, a five-year term to govern the East African country of 68 million people.

Protests erupted during Wednesday's vote for president and parliament, with some demonstrators tearing down banners of Hassan and setting fire to government buildings and police firing tear gas and gunshots, according to witnesses.

Demonstrators are angry about the electoral commission's exclusion of Hassan's two biggest challengers from the race and what they described as widespread repression.

Tanzania's main opposition party said on Friday that hundreds of people had been killed in the protests, while the UN human rights office said credible reports indicated at least 10 people were killed in three cities.

The government dismissed the opposition's death toll as "hugely exaggerated" and has rejected criticisms of its human rights record.

Reuters could not independently verify casualty figures.