Tanzania’s leading opposition party, CHADEMA, is at risk of exclusion from the October general elections following a dramatic turn of events.
Party leader Tundu Lissu was charged with treason last Thursday, just a day after being forcefully detained by police during a rally.
The arrest occurred in the southern town of Mbinga, over 1,000 kilometers from Dar es Salaam, where Lissu called for electoral reforms.
On Saturday, CHADEMA boycotted a crucial electoral ethics signing ceremony, defying a legal prerequisite for election participation.
“Any party that did not come today will not be given the opportunity tomorrow,” said electoral commission director Ramadhani Kailima.
According to Kailima, CHADEMA’s absence disqualifies it from the 2025 elections and any by-elections within the next five years.
The party declared it would not contest elections without sweeping electoral reforms, calling current laws fundamentally unjust.
Tanzania’s government, led by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, has rejected accusations of political suppression by human rights groups.
Activists argue the ruling CCM party continues to dominate an uneven playing field shaped by restrictive laws and intimidation.
Lissu, a longtime government critic, narrowly survived an assassination attempt in 2017 when he was shot 16 times.
The opposition warns that excluding CHADEMA from elections undermines democratic principles and the legitimacy of the upcoming vote.
October’s elections will determine Tanzania’s next president and members of parliament amid growing domestic and international scrutiny.