President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s landslide victory in Tanzania’s 2025 election victory interrupted by deadly protests has been rejected by the opposition party, Chadema.
The opposition described the results as “completely fabricated”, with allegations that the process was not genuine.
According to reports, the opposition was denied participation in the poll.
Hassan won the country’s disputed election with more than 97 percent of the vote, according to official results announced in the early hours of Saturday Nov 1, 2025.
After receiving her victory certificate on Saturday, President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who is 65, thanked the security forces for keeping order during the elections. She said the government strongly condemns the violence that took place, calling it “unpatriotic.”
Earlier in the day, the head of the electoral commission, Jacobs Mwambegele, announced Samia as the winner of the presidential election.
She received about 31.9 million votes, which is 97.66% of all votes cast. Voter turnout was high, with almost 87% of the country’s 37.6 million registered voters taking part.
In Zanzibar, which has its own government and president, the ruling party’s candidate, Hussein Mwinyi, was also declared the winner, with nearly 80% of the vote.
However, the opposition there said the election was full of cheating.
Although there were no protests reported on Saturday morning, the situation was still tense in Dar es Salaam, where security officers set up roadblocks across the city.
On Friday, protesters in Dar es Salaam and other areas took to the streets, tearing down posters of President Samia and attacking police and voting stations, even after the army warned people to stop.
Many of the protesters are young people who say the election was not free and fair.
They accuse the government of blocking the main opposition candidates, one of them is in jail, and the other was disqualified for technical reasons.
A spokesperson from the opposition party Chadema said around 700 people had been killed during clashes with security forces. A diplomatic source told the BBC there was evidence that at least 500 people had died.
But Tanzania’s foreign minister, Mahmoud Kombo Thabit, said the violence happened only in “a few isolated places” and that security forces acted quickly to control the situation.
The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said he was “deeply concerned” about what is happening in Tanzania and called on all sides to stop the violence.
The UK, Canada, and Norway also raised concerns, saying there were credible reports of many deaths and serious injuries caused by the security forces.
Only two major opposition candidates were expected to challenge Samia — Tundu Lissu, who is facing treason charges, and Luhaga Mpina, who was removed from the race over legal issues.
Sixteen smaller parties were allowed to run, but they are not known to have strong public support.
Samia’s party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), and the party that came before it, have ruled Tanzania since independence and have never lost an election.
Human rights groups had already warned of government crackdowns before the vote. Amnesty International said there had been kidnappings, torture, and killings of opposition members, but the government denied these claims and insisted the election would be free and fair.
Samia became president in 2021 after the death of former President John Magufuli, making her the first woman to lead Tanzania.
Cameroon’s top court has declared incumbent Paul Biya winner of the presidential election, securing him another term in office and extending his more than four-decade rule after winning with 53.66 percent of the vote.
At 92, Biya remains the world’s oldest serving head of state. His closest contender, Issa Tchrioma Bakary, garnered 35.19 percent.
The veteran leader, who first assumed power in 1982, brushed aside widespread calls to step down.
He made only one public appearance during the campaign period, assuring supporters that “the best is still to come.”
If he completes the new seven-year mandate, Biya would have ruled Cameroon for half a century, reaching the age of nearly 100 by 2032.
Despite repeated allegations of electoral irregularities and vote-rigging, the government and the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement have consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Biya’s leadership has been marked by a mix of stability and controversy.
While some credit him for maintaining peace in parts of the country, others accuse his administration of clamping down on dissent and mismanaging the economy.