Tanzania bans opposition party from fighting polls

Tanzania’s election commission had disqualified the main opposition party from contesting the national elections due later this year. The reason cited was that CHADEMA, the opposition party, did not sign the code document by Saturday.

Also, the leader of CHADEMA, TIndu Lissu, has been charged with treason because he asked the people while addressing a rally that they should not take part in the elections because the government is not carrying out the electoral reforms which would make the elections a fair process.

The opposition believes that the electoral process as it exists now favours the party in power. Ramadhani Kailima, director of elections at the Independent National Elections Commission, said, “Any party that did not sign the code of conduct will not participate in the general election.” He also said the ban would extend to by-elections to be held till 2030. President Samia Suluhu Hassan is accused of cracking down on the political opposition, which she denies.

The rights groups and the opposition have pointed to a series of abductions and killings as evidence of the government’s crackdown on dissidents. The government has opened investigations into the killings and kidnappings. Hassan’s ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), says it respects human rights.

The charges of treason brought against Lissu have been based on the address he gave to his party supporters. The chargesheet quoted from his speech: “It is true we say we will prevent the election. We will inspire rebellion. That is the way to get change...So we are going to spoil this election. We are going to really disrupt...We are going to spoil it very badly.”

It is to be seen whether these remarks of political defiance can be termed treasonous. The chargesheet says that Lissu made these statements in the capital, Dar-es-Salaam. Lissu’s lawyer Rugemelaza Nshala said, “You cannot separate these charges from politics. He was doing campaigns to educate Chadema supporters, but they have turned it into charges.”

When Hassan came into office after winning the election in 2021 she had promised to undo some the repressive measures adopted by her predecessor John Magufuli. And she did win plaudits for her liberalising stance. But criticism has mounted against her of late.

Even as political tensions seem to be on the rise, Tanzania and India are co-hosting largescale multilateral exercises under the Africa India Key Maritime Engagement (AIKME), and the participating countries are Comoros, Djibouti, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles and South Africa.

While the Indian contingent is led by the Indian Navy, that of Tanzania is led by Tanzanian People’s Defence Force (TPDF). So, Tanzania is taking the lead in a pan-African initiative, which is also a reflection of the country’s status among the African countries.

The question does arise whether Tanzania, and it is not alone, can balance the internal political conflicts which are not surprising in a democracy, and its external profile as an influential player in the emerging continent of Africa. Suluhu has tried to open up the country internally and externally. Internally she had lifted the ban on political rallies that her predecessor had imposed when she became president in 2021. And externally she had tried to open up Tanzania to the world by encouraging tourism.

In many African countries, politics becomes polarised in no time. The opposition suspects that the ruling party manipulates to stay in power, and in protest it raises the rhetoric of resistance. And the governments react with alacrity. This seems to be pattern in the ban on CHADEMA and the arrest of Lissu. Both sides will have to pull back from the brink as it were to keep the democratic processes alive.