Tanzanian President Wins Presidential Elections with 98% of the Votes

SadaNews - The Electoral Commission in Tanzania announced today, Saturday, the victory of President Samia Suluhu Hassan in the presidential elections, securing 98% of the votes.

The preliminary results broadcast by the state television showed that Suluhu Hassan received 95% of the votes after three days of violent and bloody protests that swept the country.

A swift swearing-in ceremony is expected to take place on Saturday, according to state television, amid continued internet service interruptions in Tanzania.

The main opposition party in Tanzania stated on Friday that hundreds of people were killed in protests that erupted this week over the elections, while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an investigation into allegations of excessive use of force.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that reliable sources indicated at least 10 people were killed in the protests across three cities, marking the first public estimate of fatalities issued by an international body since the elections held on Wednesday.

The foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, and Norway issued a joint statement expressing their concern over the situation, urging the authorities in Tanzania to exercise the utmost restraint and to respect the right to assembly and freedom of expression.

In the first public comment from the government regarding the unrest, Foreign Minister Mahmud Thabit Kombo told Reuters that the death toll announced by the opposition is "exaggerated," but the authorities have not conducted a tally of the deceased yet. He denied that security forces used excessive force.

Protesters have taken to the streets since Wednesday to express their anger over the exclusion of the president's main rivals from the presidential race and what they described as widespread repression. Witnesses reported that police fired tear gas and live ammunition to disperse some of the demonstrators.

The police decided to impose a night curfew in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam over the past two nights following the setting ablaze of government offices and other buildings.

Internet service has been interrupted since Wednesday. Guterres’ spokesman stated that the Secretary-General called for "a comprehensive and impartial investigation into the allegations of excessive use of force" and expressed his sorrow over the fatalities.