Name: Tanzania goes to the polls: Wheres the opposition?
Uploaded: 2025-10-28T16:40:46.960Z
Duration: 4 min 20 s
Description: Voters in Tanzania head to the polls on Wednesday for a general election that will decide the presidency. There are 17 candidates, but incumbent Samia Suluhu of the ruling CCM party is expected to win easily. Media censorship and arrests of opposition figures have cast a shadow over the vote.

Voters in Tanzania head to the polls on Wednesday for a general election that will decide the presidency. There are 17 candidates, but incumbent Samia Suluhu of the ruling CCM party is expected to win easily. Media censorship and arrests of opposition figures have cast a shadow over the vote.

Dodoma

Tanzania is conducting national elections with President Samia Suluhu Hassan, the country's first female leader, running for her first full term after taking office following her predecessor's death. While there is significant public turnout at rallies, the political environment is tightly controlled, with restrictions on protests and limited space for opposition voices.

The main opposition party, Tadema, has been barred from participating, and its would-be presidential candidate is detained on treason charges. Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have reported on the disappearance of government critics and opposition members. The situation has drawn international attention, particularly following allegations of abuse against foreign activists observing the political process. The election period is marked by increased tension and concerns over the future of democratic freedoms in Tanzania.

Tanzania goes to the polls: Where's the opposition?

Thousands of people have turned out to the rallies, and one woman is the main attraction. Tanzanian President Samia Soluhu Hassan, who's running for president for the first time. As vice president, she took over four years ago, when her predecessor died. Being the country's first female leader, Mama Samia, as she's known, sparked hope for democratic reforms. But since then, she's taken a firm grip on Tanzanian politics. I want to tell you that the only gatherings that will take place are those of people going to the polling stations to vote. There will be no other protests. There will be no security threat. I'm here speaking as the commander-in-chief of this country. The ruling party's green posters have the best spots in Dar es Salaam. We found only a few people who were willing to talk about politics on camera. My hope is that we'll find a leader who listens, a leader who will be ready to address all the problems of the citizens. My vote will support the leader that I need. There are times when we need a leader who's responsible. There are times when you need a leader who encourages things like peace and other basic needs. If we look at these elections, we see human rights, the opinions of people, and some other things are not being respected. The closure of social platforms like Jamii Forums or X, the closure of media houses, and also the prevention of journalists from reporting content that is critical of the government. Despite the pressure, Simon Malisa is campaigning to become an MP for the small NCCR Maguizzi opposition party. Most of the challenges we face in opposition parties, first of all billboards, all large billboards covered by the CCM, campaign managers, disturbance from police, also dancers, also people who motivate us. Tanzania's main opposition party, Tadema, has been reduced to protesting outside the High Court. They were disqualified from running in these elections. Antun Dulisu, Tadema's would-be presidential candidate, has been behind bars since April, facing treason charges. Dulisu also arrested his deputy outside the court earlier this month. A member of Tadema's family spoke with DW, but didn't want to be identified. They said there was no evidence of treason, and the case was a political move to keep him out of the elections. Rights groups have been criticising the situation for months. Just before the elections, Amnesty International published a report on missing government critics and opposition members. Some of these people, high-ranking government officials, like Humphrey Polepole, who it's now over three weeks, his whereabouts are unknown. You also have a case of a TikToker, Shadrack Chawla, who made fun of the president in one of their TikTok posts. The state has got investigative machinery, it has got internal intelligence, to find out where these people are. And it is also very, it creates a lot of fear when people who criticise the state, people who criticise the development agenda of a state, just disappear. The situation attracted international attention this June, when two activists from Kenya and Uganda who'd visited Tanzania to observe Tundulisu's trial, say they were abducted, tortured and sexually abused. They said, by police officers. The government denies any involvement. As Tanzanians head to the polls, the usually peaceful country is more tense than in previous elections. And while the results may seem predictable, the question is what happens afterwards.

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