Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been sworn in for a second term, following a landslide victory in a disputed election that prompted deadly protests across the country.
Hassan took the oath of office during a ceremony on Monday at a military base in the capital, Dodoma. The event was closed to the public following the violence that accompanied a vote in which the two main opposition challengers were barred from running.
After coming to power in 2021 following the death in office of her predecessor, Hassan was declared the winner of the October 29 election with almost 98% of the vote, after running against candidates only from minor opposition parties.
State television showed officials and foreign dignitaries in stands overlooking parade grounds in the State House in the capital, Dodoma, rather than at a stadium as usual, as Hassan was sworn in.
Tension remained high in the commercial capital, Dar-es-Salaam, following three days of election protests. Shops were shuttered along nearly empty streets, with most people remaining at home.
A total internet blackout has been in place since the protests broke out on election day.
‘Excessive force’
Chadema, Tanzania’s main opposition party, which was barred from running, has rejected the results, branding the vote a “sham” and calling for new elections.
“These results have no basis in reality, as the truth is that no genuine election took place in Tanzania,” the party’s statement read.
The anger over the election persists, as well as the resulting violence.
Chadema asserted late last week that hundreds of people had been killed after demonstrators clashed with police, which reportedly fired tear gas and live ammunition as government buildings were set on fire.
The party suggested on Saturday that as many as 800 people had been killed across the country.
A diplomatic source told the AFP news agency there were credible reports of hundreds – perhaps even thousands – of deaths registered at hospitals and health clinics around Tanzania.
The source added that there were “concerning reports” that police were using the internet blackout to buy time as they “hunt down opposition members and protesters who might have videos” of atrocities committed last week.
Al Jazeera has been unable to independently verify the number of deaths.
The United Nations human rights office said credible reports indicated at least 10 people were killed in three cities.
Tanzania’s Foreign Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo denied that “excessive force” has been used, telling Al Jazeera the government has “no official figures” on any protesters killed.
Hassan, previously vice president, took office four years ago when her predecessor, John Magufuli, died in office.
She has faced rising criticism for what the UN has called a pattern of “escalating” attacks, disappearances and torture of critics, since.
Local and international watchdogs have sounded alarms over election-related violence and repression for months, helping to support suggestions by analysts that she wanted an emphatic victory to cement her place and silence critics within the governing party.
Rights groups say she oversaw a “wave of terror” before the vote, including a string of high-profile abductions that escalated in the final days.
The election saw her two biggest challengers excluded from the race. The Independent National Electoral Commission disqualified Chadema in April for refusing to sign an electoral code of conduct.
The final result announced by the electoral commission on Saturday showed Hassan had won 97.66 percent of the vote, dominating every constituency.
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