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Protests after Elections in Tanzania
In Tanzania, protests have continued since the parliamentary and presidential elections on Wednesday, while the counting of votes is still underway. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the first partial results on Thursday. According to these, incumbent Samia Suluhu Hassan of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) is far ahead with over 96% of the votes, although only eight of the 272 constituencies have so far been fully counted. According to official figures, a total of 37.6 million voters were registered; however, observers report a significantly lower turnout. INEC is expected to announce the results between today and Sunday. In addition to the president, members of the National Assembly, local representatives, and both the president and the assembly of the semi-autonomous Zanzibar archipelago were also elected. There, President Hussein Mwinyi, who also belongs to the CCM, was re-elected with 78.8% of the votes, as Zanzibar’s electoral commission announced on Thursday.
In Dar es Salaam, the country’s largest city, as well as in other cities such as Arusha, Mbeya, and Tunduma, protests broke out on Wednesday. Several clashes occurred with security forces, who used tear gas and gunshots against the demonstrators. According to local media, several people were killed, although the exact number has not yet been verified. A curfew has been enforced in Dar es Salaam since Wednesday evening; police and the military are patrolling large parts of the city. At the same time, internet access was restricted nationwide; since Thursday, access has been partially restored. Schools and universities remain closed for the time being, and the government instructed all civil servants to work from home. The United Kingdom has since cancelled all flights to Dar es Salaam, and the US Embassy has also urged US citizens in Tanzania to stay at home.
ne of the causes of the protests is the exclusion of the two most prominent opposition figures from the election: Tundu Lissu of the Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo, who is currently in detention on charges of alleged treason, and Luhaga Mpina of the ACT Wazalendo, who was disqualified due to procedural errors. In total, 16 candidates from smaller opposition parties stood against the 65-year-old incumbent. Critics stated that, while the election took place formally, the range of serious alternatives was effectively absent. Parliamentary and local elections were also held without the participation of CHADEMA, after the party leadership refused to sign the electoral code due to insufficient electoral reforms. Observers further reported growing frustration over what was perceived as Hassan’s increasingly restrictive policies. According to opposition groups and human rights organisations such as the OHCHR and Amnesty International, in the run-up to the election there were numerous detentions of opposition politicians, human rights defenders, and journalists. In addition, freedom of expression, assembly, and association were reportedly curtailed through arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, and abductions.
Following the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli, in 2021, Hassan assumed the presidency and lifted a number of his restrictive measures, initially raising great hopes among the population. In the current election campaign, she announced investments in infrastructure, public services, and universal healthcare. Following earlier controversies over media freedom and opposition rights, the current protests represent another major test for Hassan. Demonstrators have announced that they will continue their protests until demands for her resignation and political reforms are met.
Incumbent wins presidential election in Côte d’Ivoire
On Monday, the Electoral Commission of Côte d’Ivoire announced the victory of incumbent Alassane Ouattara in Saturday’s presidential election. According to preliminary results, the candidate of the Rassemblement des Houphouëtistes pour la Démocratie et la Paix (RHDP) received 89.77% of the votes in the first round, securing a fourth term in office. Jean-Louis Billon (Congrès démocratique), who came second with 3.09% of the vote, conceded defeat on Sunday and congratulated Ouattara. Simone Ehivet Gbagbo (Mouvement des générations capables), former first lady and ex-wife of former President Laurent Gbagbo, came third with 2.42%. Voter turnout was at around 50%, slightly lower than in the two previous presidential elections (2020: 53.9%; 2015: 52.8%). According to reports, turnout in the north of the country, where Ouattara comes from, was significantly higher than in the centre and south, which are considered traditional strongholds of the opposition. The results are considered preliminary and have yet to be confirmed by the Constitutional Council.
Observers believe that one reason for the low turnout was the exclusion of the two most promising opposition candidates. Both former President Laurent Gbagbo (Parti des Peuples Africains – Côte d’Ivoire) and former Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam (Parti Démocratique Côte d’Ivoire) were disqualified as candidates for the election by the Constitutional Council in early September, leading to further tensions between the opposition and the government in the run-up to the vote (Press Review CW 41/2025). Despite their exclusion, Gbagbo and Thiam do not support any of the remaining opposition candidates, which, according to critics, has contributed to further fragmentation of the opposition. Instead, they called for a rerun of the election at the beginning of the week.
According to reports, voting on election day itself proceeded largely peacefully. Around 44,000 security forces were deployed after previous elections had repeatedly been marked by violent clashes. The human rights organisation Conseil National des Droits de l’Homme (CNDH) sent around 2,300 election observers. According to their report, there were isolated attempts to destroy election materials and delays in opening some polling stations due to logistical difficulties. According to the electoral commission, around 2% of polling stations were not opened or were relocated at short notice for security reasons. This particularly affected conflict-prone regions such as Haut-Sassandra, Bas-Sassandra and Yamoussoukro. In a joint statement on Monday, the election observation missions of the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) described the election as largely peaceful and orderly. However, they pointed out that ongoing disputes over the voter register and the disqualification of several prominent opposition candidates had raised questions among parts of the opposition about the impartiality and credibility of the electoral process.
According to Attorney General Oumar Braman Koné, a total of around 700 people were arrested in the run-up to the elections; the CNDH puts the death toll at six. Ouattara has ruled the West African country since 2011. The 2016 constitutional amendment, which reset the count of his previous terms in office to zero, allowed him to run again. While opposition parties and human rights organisations such as Amnesty International increasingly criticise his actions as authoritarian and restrictive of civil society freedoms, the country’s economy is thriving. Over the last decade, it has grown by an average of six per cent annually.
In other news
On Friday, Ghana’s Minister of Education Haruna Iddrisu announced that in future, primary school teachers will use local languages as the main language of instruction. Until now, English has been the dominant language at school. The government hopes that this step will strengthen Ghanaian culture, break with the colonial legacy in the education system and improve learning outcomes. Studies by UNESCO and the World Bank show that children learn faster and with greater confidence, especially in the early years of school, when lessons are taught in their mother tongue. Similar approaches are also being taken in other African countries, such as Tanzania and Ethiopia. However, the change also poses major practical challenges. More than 70 languages are spoken in Ghana, and linguistic diversity is particularly high in urban centres, which makes choosing a language of instruction difficult. Similar reform attempts in the 2000s failed, among other things, due to resistance from many parents who feared that their children would fall behind in learning English and thus have a harder time finding jobs later on.