Samia Suluhu’s victory in Tanzania polls & 4 presidents who won with record margins

Tanzania's electoral commission has declared Samia Suluhu Hassan the president-elect with 97.66 per cent of votes cast.

The controversial landslide victory saw Suluhu who was the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party candidate garner 31.9 million votes.

The announcement by the Tanzanian Electoral Commission sets the stage for Suluhu to serve her first term as an elected president, bearing in mind that she rose to power in 2021 following the demise of John Pombe Magufuli.

With this controversial feat, Suluhu joins the exclusive club of Africans heads of state who have won polls by largest margins in controversial circumstances.

While the numbers do not necessarily reflect a fully free and fair electoral competition, these African heads of state hold the record for landslide victories.

Notably, the high percentages often occurred in elections where opposition was locked out of participation, was weak or boycotted the polls altogether, or where the ruling party held dominant control.

Rwanda's choice: Paul Kagame's 3 decades in power

Rwanda’s Paul Kagame holds the record for winning presidential elections with the highest percentages.

Kagame who has been Rwanda’s de-facto leader for more than three decades was re-elected to a fourth term in office in 2024 after securing more than 99 percent of the vote.

Kagame secured the victory amid criticism after the courts banned his most prominent challengers, locking them out of the contest and leaving Kagame to face off with two challengers who secured less than 0.75 percent of the votes cumulatively.

This was a significant improvement from the 98.7 per cent that Kagame secured in 2017 in similar circumstances.

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi:

When Egyptians took to the ballot in December 2023, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had no doubt in his mind that he would secure a third term as he faced no serious challengers.

Sisi sailed to victory with 89.6 per cent of the votes cast, calling the victory a rejection of the "inhumane war" in neighbouring Gaza.

Critics however noted that the results of the poll was a foregone conclusion even before ballots were cast, accusing the incumbent (Sisi) of using the entire state apparatus and security agencies to prevent any serious contender from joining the contest, making it a one-horse race.

Gabon's Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema

Gabon’s Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema was elected President in 2025 with a landslide victory of 90.35 per cent of votes cast.

Nguema who first seized power from Ali Bongo in a coup in 2023 secured the win in an election that marred with controversy.

Opposition candidates who posed a threat to his victory were blocked from contesting, with many noting that the electoral rules were designed to give him a clear pathway to victory and sanitise a pre-determined outcome.

Felix Tshisekedi

Felix Tshisekedi won a second term in office with a landslide victory in an election that the opposition dismissed as a farce.

Tshisekedi secured more than 73 per cent of the votes cast in the election held in December 2023.