African Union Joins SADC in Tanzania Election Critique

Tanzania elections "did not comply with AU principles, normative frameworks, and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections", says the African Union. The statement by the AU's election monitoring arm - which sent a team of 72 observers to Tanzania and Zanzibar for the 29 October election - adds to mounting international criticism over conduct of the vote. Previously, observers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) said intimidation, arrests, and an internet shutdown prevented citizens from freely exercising their democratic rights during Tanzania's 2025 general election.

During demonstrations after President Samia Suluhu Hassan was declared the winner of with 98% of the vote, security forces killed more than 1000 people, according to the main opposition party Chadema and human rights bodies. The Tanzanian government said the numbers were exaggerated but has not reported any numbers.

A SADC communiqué issued following an Extraordinary Virtual Summit on Friday extended its condolences to the families of those killed during unrest in Madagascar and Tanzania but did not mention the reports of violence and allegations of human rights abuses and congratulated the Tanzanian president on her election, as well as Malawi's Arthur Mutharikaand Seychelles' Patrick Herminie, whose victories were also endorsed by the SADC.

The AU mission, led by former Botswana President Mokgweetsi E. K. Masisi. urged Tanzanian authorities to exercise restraint and pursue "thorough investigations" into violence against protesters.

In its preliminary report, the SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM), led by former Malawian Speaker Richard Msowoya, said the election fell short of the bloc's principles for democratic polls. The mission, which deployed 80 observers across 27 regions, documented harassment of its monitors, including the confiscation of passports and deletion of photos in Tanga.