Tanzanian president wins 97.66% of vote in election marred by violence

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has won a landslide election victory, official results show, after key candidates were jailed or barred from a vote that has triggered days of violent protests.

The final result shows Hassan won 97.66 percent of the vote, dominating every constituency, the electoral commission announced on state television.

A quick swearing-in ceremony would take place today, state TV says.

The main opposition party, Chadema, says hundreds of people have been killed by security forces since protests broke out on election day on Wednesday.

Hassan was elevated from vice-president on the sudden death of her predecessor, John Magufuli, in 2021.

She has faced opposition from parts of the army and Magufuli’s allies, and sought to cement her position with an emphatic win, analysts say.

Rights groups say she oversaw a “wave of terror” in the east African nation ahead of the vote, including a string of high-profile abductions that escalated in the final days.

Chadema was barred from taking part in the election, and its leader put on trial for treason.