Tanzania's electoral commission declared on Saturday that President Samia Suluhu Hassan had won, with nearly 98% of the votes, an election that set off violent protests across the country this week.

The result hands Hassan, who took power in 2021 after the death in office of her predecessor, a five-year term to govern the East African country of 68 million people.

Protests erupted during Wednesday's vote for president and parliament, with some demonstrators tearing down banners of Hassan and setting fire to government buildings and police firing tear gas and gunshots, according to witnesses.

Demonstrators are angry about the electoral commission's exclusion of Hassan's two biggest challengers from the race and what they described as widespread repression.

Tanzania's main opposition party said on Friday that hundreds of people had been killed in the protests, while the U.N. human rights office said credible reports indicated at least 10 people were killed in three cities.

The government dismissed the opposition's death toll as "hugely exaggerated" and has rejected criticism of its human rights record.

Reuters could not independently verify casualty figures.

COMMISSION SAYS TURNOUT WAS 87%

The electoral commission said that Hassan received more than 31.9 million votes, or 97.66% of the total, with turnout nearing 87% of the country's 37.6 million registered voters.

Turnout appeared low on election day, according to witnesses, with some polling stations disrupted by the protests.

The Tanzanian authorities have imposed a nationwide curfew for the past three nights and restricted access to the internet.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo on Friday denied allegations that security services had used excessive force, saying there had only been a "very few small pockets of incidents" caused by criminal elements.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a statement issued on Friday by his spokesperson, called "for a thorough and impartial investigation into all allegations of excessive use of force" and deplored the loss of life.

RECENT CRITICISM FOR HASSAN

Hassan, 65, won praise after taking office in 2021 from predecessor John Magufuli for easing repression that increased under his tenure but has more recently faced criticism from opposition parties and activists after a series of arrests and alleged abductions of opponents.

She has denied allegations of widespread rights abuses. Last year, she said she had ordered an investigation into reports of abductions, but no official findings have been released.

During the campaign, she touted accomplishments expanding road and railway networks and increasing power generation capacity.

The main opposition party CHADEMA, had called for protests during the election, which it said amounted to a "coronation".

CHADEMA was disqualified in April from the election after it refused to sign a code of conduct, and its leader, Tundu Lissu, was charged with treason.

The commission also disqualified the candidate for the opposition party ACT-Wazalendo, leaving only minor parties to take on Hassan.