Tanzania's President Hassan takes office after deadly election violence

Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan vowed on Monday to move on from deadly protests set off by last week's disputed election as she was sworn into office for her first elected term.

Opponents say the vote was rigged and that hundreds died, but the government has dismissed that toll as exaggerated.

Hassan, who came to power in 2021 following the death of her predecessor, was declared the winner of last Wednesday's election with nearly 98% of the vote.

Her two leading challengers had been disqualified from the race. 

The 65-year-old, one of only two female heads of state in Africa, took the oath of office at a ceremony at a military parade ground within the State House in the capital Dodoma. 

"Life must continue," she told dignitaries including the presidents of Somalia, Burundi, Mozambique and Zambia.

Hassan condemned the protests as violent and destructive.

"Our responsibility is to build our today to be better than our yesterday. I beg that we continue protecting our values of unity and collaboration," she said.  

The UN human rights office said credible reports indicated at least 10 people had died in the protests that erupted during last Wednesday's voting.

The government dismissed the opposition's toll as "hugely exaggerated" and defended the security response as reasonable and necessary.

Hassan acknowledged lives had been lost in the violence, without saying how many.  

Reuters could not independently verify casualty figures.

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Tanzania United Nations Protests Africa government HumanRights