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Elections

Tanzania's Ruling Party Crushes Opposition, Ensuring Electoral Landslide

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Tanzania, a country with one of Africa's longest-serving ruling parties, is on the brink of a landslide victory for the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), in the forthcoming elections on October 29, 2025. The opposition, once a formidable force, has been persistently excluded and restricted, with media freedoms and civil rights suppressed. This pattern has led to electoral authoritarianism, a phenomenon that has become all too familiar in Tanzania's electoral landscape. The country's democratic standards have been consistently falling, with the Freedom House democracy index dropping from the Partly Free category in 2020 to the Not Free category in 2025.

Key Takeaways:

  • **Electoral Authoritarianism:** Tanzania's ruling party, CCM, has been in power since independence in 1961, making it one of Africa's longest-serving ruling parties. The opposition has been persistently excluded and restricted, with media freedoms and civil rights suppressed.
  • **Opposition Disqualification:** The two major opposition parties, Chadema and ACT Wazalendo, have been disqualified from the presidential race, with the former's chair, Tundu Lissu, facing treason charges for calling for electoral reforms.
  • **Low Voter Turnout:** The voter turnout in Tanzania has been shrinking since 2010, with the elections in 2010 and 2020 experiencing low rates of 42.7% and 50.7%, respectively.
  • **Electoral Flaws:** The electoral commission has been accused of manipulating the vote, with critics alleging a scheme to increase the number of registered voters.
  • **CCM's Promises:** The ruling party is promising to deliver a strengthened economy, infrastructure development, and improved healthcare, with the added promise of a new constitution.
  • **International Condemnation:** The international community has voiced its concern over the deteriorating human rights situation in Tanzania, with several organizations, including the African Commission on Human Rights and the European Parliament, expressing their discontent.

Statistics:

  • **Voter Registration:** A total of 37.7 million people had registered as voters in the 2025 elections, a 26.55% increase from the 29.8 million registered in the 2020 elections.
  • **Electoral Laws:** Three new electoral laws were passed in 2023, introducing changes to the electoral system and leading to the establishment of a new electoral body.
  • **Electoral Commission:** The Independent National Electoral Commission has been established, promising to reform the electoral system.
  • **Democracy Index:** The Freedom House democracy index dropped from the Partly Free category in 2020 to the Not Free category in 2025.

Sources:

  • The Conversation -- Africa -- By Nicodemus Minde, Researcher, United States International University Tanzania
  • MIL OSI Africa (http://milnz.co.nz/mil-osi-aggregation/)
  • Contify.com
  • The African Commission on Human Rights
  • The European Parliament

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