Tanzania’s electoral commission has cleared President Samia Suluhu Hassan to contest in the country’s October 29 presidential election, while barring major opposition contenders from the race.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday approved Hassan and her running mate, Emmanuel Nchimbi, after receiving their nomination forms. However, the polls will go ahead without participation from the main opposition party, CHADEMA, which was disqualified in April for refusing to sign the electoral code of conduct as part of its push for reforms.
INEC also declined to accept nomination forms from Luhaga Mpina, presidential candidate of the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT-Wazalendo), Tanzania’s second-largest opposition party. On Tuesday, the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties disqualified Mpina, citing internal complaints about his party’s nomination process.
Reacting to the decision, ACT-Wazalendo’s Secretary General, Ado Shaibu, said: “This decision is not only shameful but it is raising more questions about the integrity, seriousness, professionalism and the independence of the electoral commission.”
President Hassan, who assumed office in 2021 following the death of former President John Magufuli, is seeking election in her own right for the first time. After being cleared, she called on members of her ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party to remain united, urging them via X to “maintain unity to ensure victory for our party and for God’s permission to return to serve citizens.”
CHADEMA’s leader, Tundu Lissu, has been in jail since April on treason charges, which he denies. His detention—alongside reports of abductions of government critics—has drawn renewed scrutiny of Hassan’s human rights record, despite her insistence that her government is committed to protecting rights and freedoms.
With nominations officially closed on Wednesday, Hassan will now face candidates from smaller parties in the October polls.
