Tanzania Government Investigation Claims 518 Dead in Frequent 2025 Election Violence

(CNA, Dar es Salaam, 23rd) An investigation committee established by the Tanzanian government announced today that at least 518 people lost their lives in incidents related to election violence in the country last year, but this figure is far lower than the opposition's estimates.

According to AFP, Tanzania held a general election on October 29 last year, but major opposition figures were banned from running, and Samia Suluhu Hassan was elected president with an extremely high vote share of nearly 98%.

The African Union had previously stated that this election did not meet "democratic election standards."

The election triggered multi-day protests across the country, which were brutally suppressed by security forces.

Opposition parties and religious groups alleged that thousands were killed, while Western diplomats estimated that 1,000 to 2,000 people lost their lives.

It wasn't until today that the Tanzanian government released a death toll.

Mohamed Chande Othman, head of the investigation committee set up by Hassan, said the total number of deaths resulting from the general election was 518, of which 490 were men, but this is not the final confirmed figure.