Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has defended her landslide victory in the October 29 general election, insisting that her 97 per cent win reflects the votes cast, not the entire population.
Suluhu attributed the outcome to the withdrawal of key opposition rivals, who she argued knew they were headed for defeat.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday during a meeting with regional elders at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre (JNICC), Suluhu explained that the figure represented the proportion of valid votes cast on election day, stressing that the main opposition party, Chadema, did not appear on the ballot after withdrawing from the race.
“Those who would have shaken Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) were not there,” she said.
“And we had organised ourselves properly, so that we were going to fight off those main rivals. Yet they were not there,” she said.
The President was addressing the growing debate around her overwhelming win, which has drawn scrutiny from critics and some Tanzanians online.
Suluhu argued that without Chadema and other key challengers in the contest, many of their supporters ended up voting for CCM, contributing to the huge margin.
“We want to tell them that even their supporters voted for CCM. Those debating why 97 per cent, that is what happened,” said Suluhu.
The president said she was compelled to clarify the numbers after what she termed misinterpretation and deliberate misrepresentation by opponents seeking to “twist the narrative.”
She insisted that no state agency blocked any party or aspirant from running.
“They had already known that there was going to be a resounding victory for CCM,” she said.
“They looked at the campaigns we conducted, how Tanzanians received us and the work we had done in the last five years. They knew. They refused to go into the election. Nobody barred them.”
On the post-election skirmishes reported in parts of the country, Suluhu maintained that the unrest began after most citizens had already voted, and insisted the acts of disorder did not reflect the general conduct of the polls.
“And God is great,” she said.
“The disturbances that they created started around 12 noon, when voters had already gone to the polling stations early morning. They voted and left. God is great.”
She reiterated that Tanzania would deal with any concerns arising from the election internally, saying the country has its own institutions, traditions and mechanisms for resolving political issues.
“As Tanzanians, we will address our issues among ourselves,” she said, acknowledging that every electoral process comes with lessons and areas for reflection.
The October 29 election, held amid boycotts by some opposition groups, handed CCM a dominant victory across national and local seats, extending the party’s long-standing political control.
