Freeman Mbowe waves at supporters outside a court in Tanzania during a past hearing.
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Chadema has grown into a dominant opposition party with formidable strength, making it a target of the government.
Supporters of the Tanzanian opposition party ACT-Wazalendo during a rally in 2020.
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While the space for opposition campaigns in Tanzania has widened, it still isn’t enough to facilitate free and fair elections.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
John Magufuli (centre) waves as he arrives to give a speech at a campaign rally in August 2020.
President John Magufuli won a second term by a contested landslide and looks set to take even greater control of Tanzania’s democratic space.
Julius Nyerere’s ideas and legacy remain objects of debate in contemporary politics, especially in an election year.
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For all of the shortcomings of Nyerere’s regime, his ideas continue to inspire Tanzanians fighting for a more equal and democratic future, over 20 years after his death.
Policemen posted to prevent a campaign rally in Zanzibar in 2005.
EPA/Stephen Morrison
In Tanzania today, political space has shrunk to the point where protests are suppressed before they emerge