The chairman of Tanzania’s Independent Election Commission (INEC), Jacobs Mwambegele, declared Samia Suluhu Hassan the winner of the presidential election.
“I hereby declare Samia Suluhu Hassan the president-elect of the United Republic of Tanzania through the CCM party,” Jacobs Mwambegele said on national television, TBC.
The INEC chairman said that Samia Suluhu Hassan won with 31,913,866 of the 32,678,844 votes cast, more than 97 percent.
The general elections were held on Wednesday, October 29, without the participation of the main opposition parties: Tundu Lissu of Chadema is in jail after being accused of treason, and Luhaga Mpina of ACT-Wazalendo was disqualified on technical grounds.
The results announced by the INEC give Samia the opportunity to remain in power for the next five years.
Samia came to power in 2021 after the death of his predecessor, the late President John Pombe Magufuli.
The United Nations human rights office stated that the number of protesters who have died so far since the protests began in Sambamba and on election day in Tanzania is only ten.
“According to the reports we have received, at least 10 people have died,” the United Nations said.
The United Nations has also called on the East African nation’s security forces not to use excessive force against the protesters.
“We are appalled by the number of deaths and injuries reported in the ongoing protests in Tanzania,” said Seif Magango, UN human rights spokesperson, according to Reuters.
Furthermore, Tanzanian Foreign Minister Thabit Kombo spoke with the BBC yesterday, October 31, 2025, to explain the situation in Tanzania. He stated that the Tanzanian government has not yet been able to confirm the number of people killed in the protests following Wednesday’s elections.
“At the moment, no one can say exactly how many people have been killed or injured. We continue to receive reports of damage to private property, vehicles, and public assets; vehicles belonging to TANESCO, our electricity company, were set on fire. There is no complete count yet; the government will provide the final figure once it receives the complete report,” Mahmoud Thabit stated.
Some opposition groups claimed that hundreds of people died, while the United Nations said that ten people had died, a claim that Thabit Kombo has denied.
