Tanzania’s Samia Hassan sworn in after deadly election violence

Tanzanian President Samia Hassan has been sworn in for a new term after a landslide win in the country’s presidential election that triggered widespread protests.

Hassan garnered an overwhelming 98 percent of the votes, dominating nearly all 32 million ballots in the poll conducted last Wednesday. On Saturday, she was declared winner of the election.

This is the 65-year-old’s first elected term after she became the East African nation’s leader in 2021 following the death of then-sitting President John Magufuli. Hassan was vice-president at the time.

Deadly protests trailed the elections, forcing the government to impose a curfew and shut down internet.

Reports say as many as 500 died in the clampdown, but the government has denied those figures.

Hassan’s inauguration ceremony was held on Monday at a military parade ground in Dodoma, the capital, instead of a stadium as in previous years. The public was barred from attending the event.

In her speech, Hassan thanked the electoral commission for running the elections with “unquestionable efficiency”.

She expressed sadness over the violence that had resulted in “loss of lives and destruction of public property”, describing it as a blot on Tanzania’s image.

“Life must continue. Our responsibility is to build our today to be better than our yesterday. I beg that we continue protecting our values of unity and collaboration,” she said.

The president said “it was not surprising” that some of those arrested were not Tanzanians, adding that security agencies were still investigating the incidents.

Tension remained high in Dar-es-Salaam, the commercial capital, following days of election protests.

Shops were shuttered along nearly empty streets, with most people remaining at home.

Regional presidents of Somalia, Burundi, Mozambique, and Zambia attended the inauguration.

CHADEMA, Tanzania’s main opposition party, which was barred from running, has rejected the results. The party branded the vote a “sham” and called for new election.