DODOMA – Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in on Monday for her first elected term following a landslide victory in last week’s election. Hassan, who assumed power in 2021 after the death of her predecessor, won 97.66% of the vote.
The 65-year-old president took the oath of office at a military base in the administrative capital, Dodoma, wearing a red headscarf and dark glasses. Her main challengers from the two largest opposition parties were disqualified, leaving only minor party candidates to contest the election.
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Last Wednesday’s voting sparked violent protests, with demonstrators setting fire to government buildings while police responded with tear gas and gunfire. The main opposition party claimed that hundreds of people were killed, while the UN human rights office confirmed credible reports of at least 10 deaths in three cities.
The Tanzanian government, however, dismissed the opposition’s casualty figures as “hugely exaggerated.” Independent verification of the death toll could not be conducted by Reuters.
Hassan’s election marks her first full term as president after previously completing the remainder of her predecessor’s term, consolidating her position in Tanzanian politics.