Tanzanian President Samia Hassan is widely expected to secure a second term, facing little challenge from a weakened opposition, as polls opened on Wednesday.
Chadema, the country’s largest opposition party, has
boycotted the election after its leader Tundu Lissu was imprisoned ahead of the
polls.
Lissu is facing treason charges after calling for electoral
reforms.
Luhaga Mpina, the presidential candidate for the Alliance
for Change and Transparency (ACT-Wazalendo), the second-largest opposing party,
was disqualified by the electoral umpire.
There are 16 other candidates representing smaller parties
on the ballot who pose no significant challenge to the incumbent.
Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), the ruling party, has governed
Tanzania since the country’s independence in 1961.
This is Hassan’s first presidential election.
The 65-year-old became the East African nation’s leader in
2021 following the death of then-sitting President John Magufuli. Hassan was
vice-president at the time.
She was initially lauded for a warmer, friendlier leadership
style which contrasted with Magufuli’s authoritarian clampdown on dissent and
controversial posture towards the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hassan would later initiate reforms that reopened Tanzania
to foreign investors, restored donor relations, and mollified the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
However, critics have accused Hassan’s government of
unexplained abductions of opposing figures.
The election commission says it will announce the results
within three days.
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