DODOMA (Reuters) -Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn into office on Monday for her first elected term after winning a landslide victory in an election that set off deadly protests across the country.
Hassan, who came to power in 2021 following the death in office of her predecessor, was declared the winner of last week’s election with 97.66% of the vote.
Wearing a red head scarf and dark glasses, she took the oath of office at a ceremony on a military base in the administrative capital Dodoma.
Hassan, 65, ran against only candidates from minor parties after her main challengers from the two biggest opposition parties were disqualified from the race.
Violent protests erupted during last Wednesday’s voting, with some demonstrators setting fire to government buildings and police firing tear gas and gunshots, according to witnesses.
The main opposition party said hundreds of people had been killed in the protests, while the U.N. human rights office said credible reports indicated at least 10 people were killed in three cities.
The government dismissed the opposition’s death toll as “hugely exaggerated”. Reuters could not independently verify casualty figures.
(Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Aaron Ross)
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