Keypoints:
- Major opposition parties disqualified
- Hassan cleared to run for full term
- Democracy concerns mount over poll integrity
TANZANIA’S electoral commission has barred the presidential candidate of the country’s second-largest opposition party from contesting the October polls, fuelling fears that the election will be devoid of genuine competition.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) confirmed on Wednesday that it had approved President Samia Suluhu Hassan and her running mate, Emmanuel Nchimbi, to contest the October 29 vote after receiving their nomination papers. Hassan, leader of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), is seeking her first full mandate after taking office in 2021 following the death of John Magufuli.
Opposition sidelined
The political contest has been dramatically narrowed. Tanzania’s main opposition party, CHADEMA, was barred in April after refusing to sign the electoral code of conduct as part of its campaign for reforms. Its leader, Tundu Lissu, has been detained since April on treason charges that he denies.
On Wednesday, INEC also refused to accept the nomination papers of Luhaga Mpina, presidential candidate for ACT-Wazalendo, Tanzania’s second-largest opposition group. The party confirmed the rejection, saying the commission gave no clear reason.
INEC’s chairperson did not respond to requests for comment, and its spokesperson referred Reuters reporters to him.
Political and legal disputes
The exclusion of both CHADEMA and ACT-Wazalendo leaves Hassan without credible rivals on the ballot. Analysts and rights groups warn that the move undermines multiparty democracy in Tanzania, which reintroduced competitive politics in the 1990s.
The Office of Registrar of Political Parties had already disqualified Mpina on Tuesday after receiving a complaint from an ACT-Wazalendo member who alleged that the party’s primaries were not properly conducted.
Mpina, a former CCM parliamentarian who defected to ACT-Wazalendo earlier this month, is an outspoken critic of the government. His disqualification has been widely seen as part of a broader campaign to weaken the opposition.
‘This decision is not only shameful but it is raising more questions about the integrity, seriousness, professionalism and the independence of the electoral commission,’ ACT-Wazalendo Secretary General Ado Shaibu said in a statement reported by Reuters.
Human rights spotlight
The credibility of Tanzania’s political environment is already under strain. Lissu’s continued detention, combined with a series of unexplained abductions of government critics, has placed Hassan’s human rights record under growing scrutiny.
Rights groups argue that the blocking of opposition figures deepens a pattern of democratic backsliding. Hassan has defended her record, insisting her administration respects rights and freedoms, though critics highlight a growing gap between her pledges and reality.
Hassan urges party unity
After her candidacy was confirmed, Hassan called on CCM members to remain united ahead of the polls. Posting on X (formerly Twitter), she urged supporters to ‘maintain unity to ensure victory for our party and for God’s permission to return to serve citizens’.
Hassan, Tanzania’s first female president, has styled herself abroad as a reform-minded leader eager to attract investment and modernise the economy. Yet at home, the narrowing of political space threatens to overshadow her campaign with accusations of authoritarianism.
Nominations close amid controversy
With nominations closing on Wednesday, Hassan will face only candidates from smaller, less influential parties. The absence of CHADEMA and ACT-Wazalendo means voters will be denied the chance to back the country’s main opposition movements.
‘Elections without credible rivals weaken the foundations of democracy and risk eroding legitimacy,’ a political analyst at the University of Dar es Salaam told local media.
As the campaign season begins, many Tanzanians and international observers fear the election has already been stripped of real choice — leaving Hassan’s path to re-election all but assured.
