Tanzania Election: Ruling Party Expected to Win Again, Extending Six-Decade Rule
Tanzania votes in an election likely to extend 64-year one-party rule amid repression and voter discontent.
Tanzania heads to the polls on Wednesday in an election widely expected to extend the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party’s 64-year grip on power, with President Samia Suluhu Hassan poised for victory amid a suppressed opposition and growing voter apathy. The country of 68 million, where per capita income hovers around $1,200, remains an outlier in East Africa as liberation-era parties elsewhere face mounting challenges from youth-driven opposition.
Hassan, Tanzania’s first female leader, who assumed office in 2021 after John Magufuli’s death, campaigns on stability and agricultural prosperity under the slogan “work and dignity”, while CCM maintains strong rural loyalty and ties with China’s Communist Party.
Authorities have intensified a crackdown on dissent, creating what Amnesty International calls a “climate of fear” through arrests of opposition leaders, journalists, and activists. Main rivals Tundu Lissu of Chadema and Luhaga Mpina of ACT-Wazalendo are barred from running— Lissu is jailed on treason charges he deems politically motivated, and Chadema’s deputy leader was detained during Lissu’s trial.
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With 16 candidates on the ballot, Hassan faces virtually no credible challenge, as some opposition figures have even appeared to endorse her. Analysts warn that low voter turnout, already declining since 2010, reflects disillusionment and perceptions of a foregone conclusion.
Chadema has called for election-day protests, demanding electoral reforms for fairness, while voters in Dar es Salaam voice fears of unrest, internet shutdowns, and abductions. Residents like Joshua Gerald stress that “peace must prevail” for democratic rights to be exercised, while young voter Noel Johnson insists the government must protect protest rights amid flawed processes. Political scientist Richard Mbunda cautions that public discontent risks instability if reconciliation efforts remain superficial.
Despite Hassan’s calls for high turnout and assurances of calm, the election’s legal validity contrasts sharply with its lack of political legitimacy, say observers. As Tanzania votes for a president, lawmakers, and local leaders, the outcome appears predetermined—but simmering grievances over authoritarian drift could test the nation’s long-vaunted stability.
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