Tanzania’s electoral commission has cleared President Samia Suluhu Hassan to contest the October 29 presidential election, while shutting out major opposition challengers in a move critics say undermines the credibility of the vote.
Hassan, who assumed office in 2021 after the death of her predecessor John Magufuli, was officially approved alongside her running mate, Emmanuel Nchimbi, following the submission of their nomination papers on Wednesday.
The election will take place without participation from the country’s largest opposition party, CHADEMA, which was disqualified in April after refusing to sign the electoral code of conduct as part of its demand for reforms. Its chairman, Tundu Lissu, has been in detention for more than four months on treason charges he insists are politically motivated.
Meanwhile, the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT-Wazalendo), Tanzania’s second largest opposition force, also saw its candidate barred. The commission refused to accept nomination forms from Luhaga Mpina, a former ruling party legislator who defected earlier this month.
The Registrar of Political Parties further disqualified Mpina on Tuesday, citing internal complaints about the party’s nomination process.
The exclusions sparked strong criticism from ACT-Wazalendo’s leadership. “This decision is not only shameful but it is raising more questions about the integrity, seriousness, professionalism and the independence of the electoral commission,” the party’s Secretary General, Ado Shaibu, said in a statement.
Hassan, who is seeking the presidency for the first time in her own right, struck a defiant tone after her clearance, urging her Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party to remain united to ensure victory, writing on X that she prayed for “God’s permission to return to serve citizens.”
But the narrowing of the political field has intensified scrutiny of her administration’s democratic and human rights record, already under the spotlight amid reports of abductions of government critics and the prolonged detention of opposition leaders.
With nominations officially closed on Wednesday, Hassan will face only minor challengers in October’s vote—an election many now fear is tilting toward a one-sided contest.
