Tanzanians are heading to the polls on Wednesday in a general election widely expected to hand President Samia Suluhu Hassan another term in office after key opposition figures were barred from running.
The National Electoral Commission disqualified the main opposition party, CHADEMA, in April after it refused to sign an electoral code of conduct. Its leader, Tundu Lissu, is currently facing treason charges that he denies. Similarly, ACT-Wazalendo’s presidential candidate, Luhaga Mpina, was also barred following an objection from the Attorney General, leaving Hassan’s Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party facing only minor contenders.
In addition to the presidential race, Tanzanians will vote for members of the 400-seat parliament and for a president and lawmakers in the semi-autonomous Zanzibar archipelago. The election commission has promised to release official results within three days of the vote.
President Hassan, whose campaign posters dominate public spaces, has highlighted her administration’s achievements, including expanding road and railway networks, boosting electricity generation, and pledging to hire more teachers in her next term.
While she initially earned praise for relaxing the political repression seen under her predecessor, John Magufuli, critics say her administration has recently tightened its grip on dissent. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have accused the government of arbitrary arrests and unexplained abductions of critics claims the government strongly denies.
Government spokesperson Gerson Msigwa dismissed Amnesty’s report, saying it misrepresented Tanzania’s commitment to legal and institutional safeguards. He maintained that the country remains committed to human rights and the rule of law.
Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) and will close at 4 p.m. (1300 GMT). With the opposition largely sidelined, Hassan Africa’s only female head of state apart from Ethiopia’s president is expected to secure a comfortable victory for CCM, the ruling party since Tanzania’s independence.
