Tanzania vows constitutional reform following post-election bloodshed

Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan has promised constitutional reform in response to last year’s post-election violence that left hundreds of people dead.

A government commission set up to investigate the bloodshed announced its findings on Thursday.

It said that 518 people were killed and at least 2,000 injured. The opposition claims thousands of people died and has called the report "an attempt to whitewash the regime’s crimes."

Hassan said that the commission’s findings will guide constitutional amendments and promised the establishment of a reconciliation commission.

The president also announced the formation of a criminal investigative body to review the post-election unrest.

"What happened in October 2025 did not stop or reduce the issues we face as a country. Chaos erupted, but the chaos and violence did not solve our problems. Instead, they added onto our issues," said Hassan.

She said that the body will identify those who planned, financed and were involved in criminal acts such as looting and damaging infrastructure.

It will also investigate claims of missing bodies and allegations of abductions, Hassan said.

More than 200 people are still unaccounted for. Several families also report seeing the bodies of their loved ones in the morgue before they later disappeared.

Tanzania experienced post-election violence on October 29, after young people took to the streets, accusing the government of silencing the opposition, as the country’s main opposition party leader remained in prison for treason and the presidential candidate for the second-largest opposition party was barred from running.

The internet was shut down in the country for days, a move that Hassan later apologised to the diplomatic community for and promised would never happen again.

Hassan was seeking a second term in office after serving out the term of her predecessor, John Magufuli, after he died in office.

She won with 97% of the vote, and some international observers said the election fell short of a free and fair vote.