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Tanzania opposition rejects election results as Karua, Kibwana question Ruto silence
A Tanzanian police officer walks past a vandalised campaign poster of President Samia Suluhu Hassan at the Namanga One-Post Border crossing point between Kenya and Tanzania on October 30, 2025.
What you need to know:
- On Sunday, Opposition politicians in Kenya questioned the silence of President William Ruto, the chairman of the East African Community.
- They demanded for cancellation of the election results and the establishment of an inclusive transitional arrangement before fresh polls are held.
Whereas Tanzania’s president-elect Samia Suluhu Hassan is awaiting swearing-in to lead the country till 2030, the country’s opposition has rejected her being declared the winner of Wednesday’s elections.
The Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) has termed the results announced by Tanzania’s Independent National Electoral Commission “completely fabricated”.
"Chadema strongly rejects the so-called election results announced by the National Electoral Commission. These results have no basis in reality, as the truth is that no genuine election took place in Tanzania,” the party said in a statement on Saturday evening.
“The countrywide demonstrations are clear proof that citizens did not take part in what is being called an election, and that they reject anyone emerging from this flawed electoral process,” it added.
And on Sunday, opposition politicians in Kenya held a press conference where they questioned the silence of President William Ruto, the chairman of the East African Community (EAC).
The People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua, and former Makueni governor Kivutha Kibwana asked President Ruto to address the election malpractices witnessed in Tanzania, where the main opposition leaders were excluded from the election.
“It looks like it is no longer a jumuiya to serve the people, but a jumuiya to retain those in power by whatever means. How do you explain the silence of William Ruto, who is the Jumuiya chairperson? What about the [silence] of other neighbours? Silence in certain situation is (being) complicit,” Ms Karua said.
People's Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua speaks to the media in Nairobi on November 2, 2025 about the situation Tanzania following the country's chaotic General Elections.
Despite the electoral commission announcing Ms Samia Suluhu Hassan on Saturday as the winner with 98 per cent of the total votes, only the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohammed, has recognised and congratulated her on her victory.
“I extend warm congratulations to [Ms Samia] on her re-election,” wrote Mr Hassan on X. “Her victory reflects the trust and confidence of the Tanzanian people. Somalia looks forward to deepening our brotherly ties & advancing regional peace and prosperity.”
Also, the African Union Commission sent congratulations to Ms Samia.
“Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, takes note of the results of the presidential election in Tanzania and congratulates H.E. President Samia Suluhu Hassan for her victory,” said a statement on Saturday evening.
The Kenyan opposition politicians also shared with journalists videos and images of lifeless bodies claimed to have been recorded by human rights groups in Tanzania. They called for immediate investigation of the killings and accountability from the authorities.
On October 29, 2025, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania and candidate for the same position through the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan, casts her vote at the Chamwino Village Office polling station in Dodoma.
“We are disturbed by reports of neighbouring governments actively aiding and abetting the violence with which the Tanzanian state is attempting to curtail the youthful protesters. That mercenaries can apparently be borrowed across borders means we have established new modes of transnational authoritarian collaboration, no longer confining authoritarianism within our national boundaries,” Prof Kibwana said.
They also questioned the credibility of the electoral commission, which announced that President Samia garnered 31.9 million votes citing reports that some of the polling stations were closed, and voting paralysed in some parts of the country.
“The political bloodshed being perpetuated and hidden behind internet blackouts are crimes against humanity, and are breaching local, continental and international law. Their alleged involvement in shattering the spirit of the East African Community must immediately cease.”
They also lashed at the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, for congratulating President Samia too soon, while other bodies, including the European Parliament, the European Union, the United Kingdom (UK), Canada and Norway, were raising concerns about irregularities and violence during the election.
They also demanded for the cancellation of the election results and the establishment of an inclusive transitional arrangement before fresh election is held.
From left: Kenya Human Rights Commission board member Kwamchetsi Makokha, People's Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua and former Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana speak to the media in Nairobi on November 2, 2025 about the situation Tanzania following the country's chaotic General Elections.
“We demand the restoration of full access to the internet and communication platforms. This includes the lifting of internet shutdowns, restoring social media and online communications, to allow independent reporting, citizen-monitoring and free flow of information,” they said.
The reports of massive casualties in Tanzania were the subject of a Chadema statement issued on Sunday, which called for the International Criminal Court to conduct investigations in the country.
“[There is] the existence of pictures and videos showing dead bodies scattered on the streets and reports that some hospitals are overwhelmed by corpses – a situation indicating that mass killings are taking place in Tanzania under the oppressive regime of Samia Suluhu Hassan and her party,” Chadema Secretary-General John Mnyika said in a statement.
He added that there were also reports that Tanzanian police were “moving around to various hospitals to collect the bodies of those killed during the demonstrations, with the intention of erasing evidence and statistics”.
“Many of the injured are unable to go to hospitals to treat their wounds due to lack of essential social services, including transportation and communication,” added Mr Mnyika.
“We advise and appeal to the International Community, especially the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC), to urgently conduct an independent investigation into these killings committed by the government of Tanzania against its citizens and to take appropriate action,” Mr Myika noted.
Additional reporting by Reuters
