Samia Declared Winner as Election Day Violence and Opposition Bans Cast Doubt Over Result

Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan was declared the winner of the October 29 election amid violent protests, an internet blackout, and opposition bans (image source)

Dar es Salaam — President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been declared the winner of Tanzania’s October 29 presidential vote, but the announcement came amid violent demonstrations, an internet blackout, and widespread reports that key opposition figures were barred from contesting the election.

The scale of Samia’s victory reflects a race in which the two main opposition parties were effectively sidelined. Several leading opposition candidates were disqualified in the run-up to the vote, leaving the incumbent to face a field of minor candidates who mounted little visible nationwide campaigns. Critics say the disqualifications dramatically narrowed the contest and undermined any meaningful challenge to the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) ticket.

Election day itself was marred by unrest. Pockets of violent protests erupted in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, and other cities after news of candidate bans spread. Demonstrators attacked some polling material and clashed with security forces. Authorities imposed curfews and deployed troops in major urban centres as unrest escalated. Independent monitors and media reported a near-countrywide internet disruption that hampered communications and live reporting from affected polling stations.

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Questions have been raised about who actually voted and where votes were counted. Official tallies were released by the national electoral commission, which said it would stream and publish results. However, journalists and observers reported that many polling stations were closed, burnt, or largely empty because of unrest and intimidation on voting day—raising serious doubts about the representativeness of the counts from those areas. Several news outlets recorded low turnout in protest-hit neighbourhoods even as the commission announced regional results.

Observers and rights groups criticised the electoral environment, arguing that the exclusion of main opposition figures, arrests of critics, and the heavy security presence created conditions unlikely to meet international standards for free and fair voting. Those concerns were reinforced by eyewitness reports of polling stations attacked or abandoned, and by footage of clashes between young demonstrators and police in multiple cities. The counting process was conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and results were published regionally, but transparency questions remain. Media and opposition sources have demanded independent verification, citing irregularities including closed and destroyed polling sites, restricted media, and an internet blackout that prevented full oversight during and after voting.

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International diplomatic missions and rights organisations have urged calm while calling for credible, transparent investigations into the conduct of the election and the handling of protests. As the government moves to enforce order, calls for independent audits of the vote and guarantees for political freedoms are likely to intensify. For many Tanzanians and international observers, the central question is not only who counted the ballots, but whether the votes counted accurately reflected the will of a populace whose ability to vote freely was severely constrained on election day.