Dar es Salaam — President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been declared winner of Tanzania’s general election, securing her first elected mandate three days after polls closed—an outcome widely expected after leading opposition figures were barred or jailed months before voting.
Hassan, who first assumed office in 2021 following the death of former President John Magufuli, faced a contest marked by extremely low turnout, according to international observers who reported largely empty polling stations and sparsely filled ballot boxes. The vote’s credibility was further dented by viral clips showing protesters seizing ballot boxes and scattering ballots in acts of defiance.
The country’s two main opposition parties did not participate after their leaders were disqualified from the race, narrowing the field and intensifying scrutiny from rights groups and foreign missions. The final results were announced against a backdrop of a calm but brittle mood in Dar es Salaam, following three days of protests and violence that began on election day in the nation of roughly 68 million.
Several embassies have advised staff to avoid non-essential travel, reflecting growing concern over stability and governance in a country that many had hoped would see a more open political era under Hassan’s stewardship.
While the electoral commission’s proclamation consolidates Hassan’s authority, the combination of opposition exclusion, low participation, and disorder around the vote is likely to shadow her mandate at home and abroad. Diplomats and civil society groups are urging confidence-building steps—including dialogue with opposition figures, credible investigations into election-day incidents, and concrete guarantees of political rights—to ease tensions and restore public trust.
For supporters, Hassan’s victory promises continuity on economic reforms and infrastructure. For critics, it underscores a narrowing political space that, unless reversed, could fuel periodic street unrest and deepen international skepticism about Tanzania’s democratic trajectory.
