(Reuters) – Tanzania’s leader chose a longtime loyalist as prime minister on Thursday, after a disputed presidential election in the East African country prompted clashes in which rights groups say hundreds of protesters were killed.
The parliament backed the appointment of former finance minister Mwigulu Nchemba in a near-unanimous vote, as expected given that President Samia Suluhu Hassan was declared the landslide winner of the October 29 vote.
Nchemba, who also served in the cabinet of Hassan’s predecessor John Magufuli, said he would work diligently in his new post.
Tanzania has predicted that the economy will grow 6% this year, partly driven by infrastructure projects such as roads, railways and power generation. Budget spending is expected to rise about 12% this fiscal year to fund the projects amid cuts in aid from international partners including the United States.
Opponents say Hassan’s government rigged last month’s election, which triggered unrest over the exclusion of her main challengers.
Hassan, in office since 2021 when Magufuli died, has rejected criticism of her human rights record and defended the fairness of the election.
The U.N. Human Rights Office has said it believes hundreds of people were killed in protests, while the main opposition party and some human rights activists have said security forces killed more than 1,000 people.
The government has said the opposition’s death toll is exaggerated but has not put forward its own figure for the number of dead.
Nchemba has been a member of parliament since 2010 and also previously held the post of deputy secretary-general of Hassan’s Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party.
Richard Mbunda, a political analyst from the University of Dar es Salaam, said Hassan’s trust in Nchemba was demonstrated by the fact he had never lost his job in the cabinet reshuffles since she came to power.
