The African Union (AU) observer mission has declared that Tanzania’s recent general election failed to meet international democratic standards, following a disputed vote that sparked deadly protests across the country.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan was proclaimed the overwhelming winner of the October 29 election, securing 98% of the vote. However, opposition groups have accused the government of electoral fraud and decried the exclusion of major challengers from the race.
“At this preliminary stage, the Mission concludes that the 2025 Tanzania General Elections did not comply with AU principles, normative frameworks, and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections,”
the AU mission said in its statement released on Wednesday.
The observer team reported ballot stuffing at several polling stations, noting that some voters were issued multiple ballot papers. It also cited the absence of political party agents and instances where observers were asked to leave during vote counting, raising serious concerns about transparency and credibility.
Despite these findings, the Tanzanian government has maintained that the election was both free and fair, insisting that the process reflected the will of the people.
The country’s main opposition party, CHADEMA, which was barred from contesting, claimed to have documented hundreds of deaths resulting from post-election protests.
Boniface Mwabukusi, president of the Tanganyika Law Society, estimated the death toll at over 1,000, citing reports from local contacts. He added that verifying the exact number had proven difficult due to government intimidation.
“The government is threatening people to prevent them from sharing information,” Mwabukusi said.
President Hassan, who was sworn in for another term on Monday, admitted that lives were lost during the unrest but dismissed opposition figures as “hugely exaggerated.”
The AU mission urged Tanzania’s leadership to address the underlying issues that continue to undermine the country’s electoral integrity.
“Tanzania should prioritise electoral and political reforms to address the root causes of its democratic and electoral challenges witnessed ahead of, during, and after last week’s elections,”
the AU added.
The disputed poll marks one of the most turbulent elections in Tanzania’s recent history, raising fresh concerns about the state of democracy and political freedoms in East Africa’s second-largest economy.
