DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — On Wednesday, Tanzania’s electoral commission barred the presidential candidate of its second-largest opposition party from contesting the October elections, leaving President Samia Suluhu Hassan to face only candidates from smaller parties.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) approved Hassan and her running mate, Emmanuel Nchimbi, to run in the October 29 election after receiving their nomination forms.
The vote will proceed without the participation of the leading opposition party, CHADEMA, which was disqualified in April for failing to sign the electoral code of conduct as part of its protest for electoral reforms.
The election commission also declined to accept nomination forms from Luhaga Mpina, the presidential candidate for the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT-Wazalendo), the country’s second-largest opposition party, according to the party’s statement on Wednesday.
The chairperson of the electoral commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters, after a commission spokesperson referred the news agency to him.
Following her nomination’s clearance, Hassan shared a post on X urging her Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party to “maintain unity to ensure victory for our party and for God’s permission to return to serve citizens.”
CHADEMA chairman Tundu Lissu has been in jail for over four months after being charged with treason in early April, charges he has denied.
Lissu’s detention and the recent, unexplained abductions of government critics have brought increased scrutiny to Hassan’s human rights record, though she maintains that her government is committed to respecting human rights.
On Tuesday, the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties had disqualified Mpina, citing complaints from a party member who claimed the party had failed to comply with nomination procedures in the primaries.
Also Read: Tanzania’s Tundu Lissu treason trial highlights opposition crackdown, erosion of democracy
Mpina, a government critic and a former ruling party member of parliament, had defected from the CCM earlier this month.
“This decision is not only shameful but it is raising more questions about the integrity, seriousness, professionalism and the independence of the electoral commission,” Ado Shaibu, ACT-Wazalendo’s Secretary General, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Hassan is seeking the presidency for the first time after assuming office in 2021 following the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli. Nominations for presidential candidates closed on Wednesday.
