The inauguration took place at a military base in the administrative capital, Dodoma, under tight security. The public was barred from attending amid restrictions imposed after violent protests that marred the electoral period, which opposition leaders say left hundreds dead. The event was broadcast live on state television.

The 65-year-old leader formally took office alongside Emmanuel Nchimbi, who was sworn in as vice president.

According to the Independent National Electoral Commission, Suluhu, the candidate of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, won 97.66% of the vote more than 31.9 million ballots with nearly 87% of Tanzania’s 37.6 million registered voters turning out. Her main rival, Tundu Lissu of the opposition Chadema party, remains in custody facing treason charges.

Suluhu first became president in 2021 after the death of her predecessor, John Pombe Magufuli. Monday’s ceremony marks the beginning of her first full five-year term as an elected president.

A long-serving CCM politician, Suluhu began her career in Zanzibar, later joining Tanzania’s National Assembly in 2010. She served as Minister of State for Union Affairs and vice chair of the Constitutional Assembly that drafted the proposed new constitution.

In 2015, she broke new ground as Tanzania’s first female vice president under Magufuli and with her latest swearing-in, she reinforces her historic place as the first woman elected to lead the nation.