Chatham House published on 4 December 2025 an analysis titled "Tanzania's Election Violence: Deflecting Blame Will Only Do More Harm" by Fergus Kell.
Tanzania held elections last October that resulted in extensive violence and hundreds of civilian deaths. Key opponents to President Samia Suluhu Hassan were prevented from competing. Polling stations were nearly empty on election day. The government declared Samia the winner with 98 percent of the vote and a turnout of nearly 33 million in a country where the entire voting age population is 35 million. Violence quickly broke out.
The United States and European Union have been critical of the election and are reassessing their relationship with Tanzania. China and Russia have remained uncritical. China is moving forward with a $1.4 billion project to refurbish the Tanzania-Zambia Railway while Russia continues to pursue its $1.2 billion uranium project.
