President Samia Suluhu Hassan has been declared the winner of Tanzania's presidential election, securing another term amid days of unrest across the country.
Samia won 98% of the votes in Wednesday's poll, the electoral commission said. In her Saturday victory speech, she claimed the election was free and democratic, accusing protesters of being unpatriotic.
Opposition parties rejected the results, calling the vote a mockery of the democratic process as Samia's main challengers had either been imprisoned or barred from running.
International observers have expressed concern over the lack of transparency and widespread turmoil that has reportedly left hundreds of people dead and injured.
The nationwide internet shutdown is making it difficult to verify the death toll. The government has sought to downplay the scale of the violence, and authorities have extended a curfew in a bid to quell the unrest.
Receiving her victory certificate on Saturday, Samia, 65, thanked the security forces for ensuring that the violence did not affect voting and strongly condemned the violent incidents, labeling them unpatriotic.
Earlier on Saturday, electoral commission chief Jacobs Mwambegele declared Samia the winner of the presidential election. Samia secured about 31.9 million votes, or 97.66% of the total, with a turnout nearing 87% of the 37.6 million registered voters.
In Tanzania's semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar, CCM's Hussein Mwinyi, the incumbent president, also won with nearly 80% of the vote. However, the opposition in Zanzibar alleged massive fraud.
No protests were reported on Saturday morning, but tension remained high in Dar es Salaam, where security forces manned roadblocks across the city. On Friday, demonstrators in Dar es Salaam and other cities took to the streets, tearing down Samia's posters and attacking police and polling stations despite warnings from the army chief to cease the unrest.
The demonstrations are primarily led by young protesters who denounce the election as unfair, accusing the government of undermining democracy by suppressing main opposition leaders.
A spokesperson from the opposition Chadema party stated that around 700 people had been killed in clashes with security forces, while a diplomatic source revealed credible evidence of at least 500 deaths.
The situation has prompted global leaders, including UN chief Antonio Guterres, to express concern over the violence and urge all parties to prevent further escalation.
Following a tradition of electoral dominance, President Samia's ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), has not lost an election since independence. Human rights groups have condemned government actions in the lead-up to the elections as a wave of terror involving enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, although the government maintains that the election was free and fair.
