DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania —President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been declared the winner of the Tanzania election 2025 held Oct. 29, extending the ruling party’s grip on power as a deadly crackdown on protesters and opponents sparked fresh scrutiny at home and abroad, Dec. 30, 2025.
The African Union said the ballot failed to meet democratic standards and urged urgent political reforms, while the government has rejected allegations of fraud and disputes opposition claims about the death toll.
Tanzania election 2025 draws African Union rebuke
In a preliminary statement, the AU’s election observer mission said the vote “did not comply with AU principles” and cited irregularities including ballot stuffing, multiple voting and the absence of party agents at some polling stations. The mission also reported interference during counting, according to Reuters’ summary of the AU findings.
Hassan was credited with about 98% of the vote in results announced in early November. Her Chama Cha Mapinduzi, or CCM, has governed Tanzania since independence in 1961. Opposition leaders argue the Tanzania election 2025 was effectively decided before polling day after major rivals were blocked — including CHADEMA leader Tundu Lissu, who remains in custody on treason charges.
Deadly crackdown after the Tanzania election 2025 vote
Human rights groups say security forces used live ammunition, curfews and mass arrests to crush demonstrations that flared in Dar es Salaam, Arusha and other cities as results were announced. Human Rights Watch said the authorities responded to post-election protests with lethal force and other abuses.
The UN human rights office said it had received information suggesting “hundreds of protesters and other people were killed,” but said it could not independently verify casualty figures because of a volatile security situation and an internet shutdown after the vote. In its Nov. 11 statement, Volker Türk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, cited reports of bodies being removed from streets and hospitals in the OHCHR press release.
Inquiry promises and calls for reforms
In a parliamentary address, Hassan called for a moment of silence and said, “I extend my condolences to all families who lost their loved ones,” while pledging a commission to investigate the violence, Reuters reported.
The government later announced an inquiry commission and said some detained youths would be released, while Hassan also acknowledged opposition demands for constitutional change, according to The Associated Press report on the commission.
A longer arc beyond the Tanzania election 2025 crisis
Earlier elections have followed a similar pattern of landslide results, disputes and pressure on critics. In 2020, then-President John Magufuli was declared the winner amid allegations of fraud, intimidation and social media blocking, described in a Reuters account of that vote. Hassan later lifted a six-year ban on political rallies in 2023 as part of a reform push, Reuters reported at the time.
But arrests and abductions intensified again ahead of the 2025 campaign. In September 2024, police detained opposition leaders to stop protests over alleged killings and disappearances, according to a separate Reuters report.
Whether the Tanzania election 2025 inquiry delivers credible accountability — and whether promised electoral and constitutional reforms move from pledges to law — may determine if Tanzania can regain the stability its leaders have long sold to voters and investors.
