Muktadesh Desk: Samia Suluhu Hassan has been elected president of Tanzania in a landslide victory. Preliminary results on Saturday (November 1) showed that she received 98 percent of the vote. This information was revealed by a report by the British media outlet BBC.
The report said that the main candidates were sent to jail or banned from running before the election. This triggered violent protests in the country.
Preliminary counts on state TV showed Samia receiving more than 90 percent of the vote in each constituency.
State TV said that the swearing-in ceremony will be held on Saturday.
The main opposition party Chadema said that hundreds of people have been killed by security forces since the protests began on Wednesday, election day. Samia has not made any public statements since the unrest began.
Her government has denied the “excessive use of force”. However, the internet has been shut down and a strict lockdown and curfew have been imposed across the country, making it difficult to get any information.
News websites have not been updated since early Wednesday and journalists are not allowed to work freely in the country.
The UN secretary-general is “deeply concerned” by the overall situation, including reports of casualties during the protests in Tanzania, a spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres said in a statement.
A Chadema spokesman said on Friday that “nearly 700” people had been killed, based on figures collected from a network of hospitals and health clinics.
A security source and diplomat in Dar es Salaam both told AFP that “hundreds” of people had died as the protests continued on Friday.
Samia had sought a landslide victory to cement her position and silence her party’s critics. Authorities barred Chadema from participating and put its leader on trial for treason.
Human rights groups reported the abduction of several high-profile figures in the days leading up to the vote.
The agencies have indicated public anger at Samia’s son, Abdul Halim Hafid Amir, who is accused of overseeing the crackdown.
But army chief Jacob Makunda strongly sided with Samia on Thursday, calling the protesters “criminals.”
Foreign Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo said on Friday that his government “does not have figures” for any deaths. “Currently, no excessive force has been used. So far, there is no figure of any protesters killed,” he told Al Jazeera.
