Zanzibar island has been a Tanzanian territory since 26 April 1964.
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Many Tanzanians agree that the union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar should be reformed to reflect contemporary realities.
Women supporters of Chama cha Mapinduzi at a political rally in Zanzibar.
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CCM and Chadema’s commitments to gender equity start and end with the establishment in each party of a women’s wing.
John Magufuli and Samia Suluhu Hassan after winning the 2015 elections.
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Political reforms and Magufuli loyalists within Tanzania’s ruling party could shape Samia Suluhu Hassan’s candidature for the 2025 elections.
A woman casts her ballot at a polling station in Zanzibar in 2020.
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Electoral reforms are urgent for Tanzania because local elections are scheduled for December 2024.
Tanzania is not yet out of the woods despite reforms by President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
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Current reforms in Tanzania lack popular participation and legal safeguards.
Tanzania designated Dodoma as it’s new capital following a public referendum 50 years ago.
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Dodoma will need to address social issues such as increased accommodation and recreational facilities as population grows
Tanzanian opposition politician Freeman Mbowe (left) flashes a victory sign at a public rally in January 2023.
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Tanzania’s six-year ban on political rallies shows how the president’s power can override the constitution.
Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
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The Tanzanian president’s reform drive has endeared her to the populace but will also embolden opposition to her political ambitions.
Supporters of Tanzania’s main opposition party Chadema at a rally in Mwanza.
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After years of censorship, opposition parties have to – all at once – rejoin public debates, reorganise and remotivate demoralised supporters.
July 1976: President Nyerere (right) watches as President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia greets Chinese Vice-Premier Sun Chien at the handing over ceremony of the Tanzania-Zambia railway.
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Tazara upgrade requires huge capital but new tracks could be incompatible with the existing Southern Africa rails.
Tanzania’s President Samia Hassan holds up her COVID-19 vaccination card in July 2021.
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President Samia Hassan has set Tanzania on a change of course – time will tell if the pattern holds and addresses the country’s challenges.
Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
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President Samia Hassan may have been an ‘accidental president’ but Tanzania’s leader has set out to showcase her own political strategy.
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan. Photo by Hannah McKay - Pool.
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Hassan is winning party loyalists, and has launched a diplomatic charm offensive ahead of 2025 polls.
Zanzibar’s anti-riot police officers stand guard over protesters cornered during opposition protests in Stone Town, Zanzibar.
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The emerging partisan politics and the polarisation it creates is a new threat for Tanzania.
Tanzania opposition party leader Freeman Mbowe (centre) after being released from prison in Dar es Salaam in 2020.
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Despite the relative political stability over the years, Tanzania needs a new constitution to address contemporary challenges and strengthen institutions.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan attends the funeral of her predecessor president John Magufuli on March 26, 2021 in Chato, Tanzania.
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Hassan may prove the right sort of politician to usher in a new era of bipartisan politics, less populist and authoritarian and more collegial.
New Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan during her swearing-in.
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Hassan, like Magufuli before her, has taken office without her own political base and will also have to contend with revived factional manoeuvring.
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan inspects a military parade following her swearing-in as the country’s first female president on March 19, 2021 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
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She has been described as compassionate, rational and calm – attributes that are a far departure from her former boss.