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Tanzanian poll is likely to usher in a new era of authoritarianism. Here’s why

Tanzanian poll is likely to usher in a new era of authoritarianism. Here’s why

DAN PAGET, Lecturer in Politics, University of Aberdeen TANZANIANS voted in their general election on October 28 in a poll that pitted popular opposition chief Tundu Lissu against incumbent John Magufuli. As the results were announced, Dan Paget explains why incumbent John Magufuli was declared the winner, and what his second term will mean for democracy in the East African nation. How do you rate the independence or fairness of the Tanzania election commission now and in the past? I no longer have faith in Tanzania’s National Electoral Commission or the validity of the election results. The validity of elections…
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A contested legacy: Julius Nyerere and the 2020 Tanzanian election

A contested legacy: Julius Nyerere and the 2020 Tanzanian election

LUKE MELCHIORRE, Assistant Professor, Political Science, Universidad de los Andes TANZANIANS will head to the polls on 28 October in which the incumbent, John Magufuli, faces a determined opposition. Elected to a first term in 2015, Magufuli’s time in office has lived up to his nickname tinga tinga, Kiswahili for “the bulldozer”. He has been applauded by some for advancing a series of major developmental projects. Others have denounced him for his arguably more autocratic, repressive rule Magufuli leads Chama Cha Mapinduzi, one of the longest-serving ruling parties in Africa. It is also the party of Tanzania’s socialist founding father,…
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Tanzanian president Magufuli to face 14 challengers in Oct elections

Tanzanian president Magufuli to face 14 challengers in Oct elections

TANZANIAN president John Magufuli will face 14 challengers in elections scheduled for this October, the elections board announced on Wedne, with analysts saying a divided opposition was likely to ensure he won a second term. His main challengers are likely to be Tundu Lissu, who returned to Tanzania last month after spending nearly three years in Belgium for treatment after he was shot during an assassination attempt, and ex-foreign minister Bernard Membe, who was expelled from the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi party in February. The presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 28. Opposition parties are heading to the…
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