Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has won re-election with nearly 98% of votes, according to the country’s electoral commission.
She secured 31.9 million out of 32.6 million votes cast.
Her landslide victory has been marred by opposition boycotts and allegations of voter intimidation.
“I hereby announce Samia Suluhu Hassan as the winner of the presidential election under the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) Party” Jacobs Nwambegele, the nation’s electoral Chief, said on Saturday.
Several opposition leaders were reportedly disqualified from participating in the election.
International observers had raised concerns over the capacity of the electoral process and the widespread chaos that has reportedly claimed over 500 lives and left many more injured. Chadema, the country’s largest opposition party, boycotted the election after its leader Tundu Lissu was imprisoned ahead of the polls.
Lissu is facing treason charges after calling for electoral reforms.
Hassan, 65, became the East African nation’s leader in 2021 following the death of then-setting President John Magufuli.
This is Hassan’s first presidential election, she was initially lauded for a warmer, friendlier leadership style, which contrasted with Magufuli’s authoritarian clampdown on dissent and controversial posture during the COVID-19 pandemic.
-9News Nigeria.
