A government-appointed commission of inquiry in Tanzania released a report on Thursday stating that at least 518 people were killed in violence that broke out during the elections last October. This represents the first official acknowledgment of the scale of the deadly unrest and the first official death toll released since the events occurred.
The report was commissioned by President Samia Suluhu, who was re-elected with 97.66% of the vote. While the commission acknowledges that hundreds of demonstrators were killed in the aftermath of the presidential election, the results of the vote have been rejected by the opposition.
The findings of the commission are at odds with details from human rights groups, which estimate that hundreds and possibly thousands of people were killed.