Tanzania holds elections today: President Hassan faces no competition as she jails top opposition leaders and disqualifying the remaining candidates‼️

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Election season in Tanzania has followed a familiar pattern. Posters went up and ballots were mailed out. Then activists were abducted and opposition leaders were jailed.

When Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in four years ago after the death of her predecessor — making her the first Tanzanian woman to ascend to the presidency — there were brief hopes she would relax the country’s repressive political climate. But as she runs for reelection on Wednesday, her main opponents have been detained or disqualified, and those who have spoken out against her have been met with violence.

Rights activists have documented dozens of disappearances in the weeks leading up to the vote. A top opposition politician was charged with treason and his deputy was imprisoned. A former ambassador turned critic was dragged from his home by unidentified assailants, his family said, leaving blood dripping down his front steps.

Oryem Nyeko, senior researcher in the Africa division at Human Rights Watch, said the pattern of violence was similar to previous elections, but operating on a larger scale.

Tanzania’s chief government spokesperson, Gerson Msigwa, did not respond to a request for comment.

Tanzania, home to nearly 70 million people, has historically been one of the most stable and influential nations in East Africa — and one of America’s closest regional allies. It has been courted by China as well, with its ports serving as a gateway to the lucrative mines in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. Known to outsiders for its wildlife safaris and powder sand beaches, it has struggled with economic stagnation. A quarter of the population lives below the poverty line.

Like countries across the continent, Tanzania has been hit hard by President Donald Trump’s campaign to slash global aid spending. Around $216 million in funds was cut this year, according to the Center for Global Development, gutting HIV, malaria, family planning and child health programs. Funding was also withdrawn from civil society groups that advocate for press freedom and democracy, according to a recent report from the Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition, “undermin[ing] government reforms and human rights protections.”

“The U.S. provides more foreign aid than any country in the world. We’re going to do more than anyone in the world again this year, but we’re going to do it the right way: holistically and as part of an integrated foreign policy,” the White House press office said in a statement.

The U.S. government, ordinarily outspoken about human rights in Tanzania, has said little about the wave of electoral repression. Neither the embassy Facebook page nor its X account has been updated since Oct. 9. A pinned notice says this is due to the government shutdown.

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Five members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday issued a statement expressing concern over the conditions of Wednesday’s election. “We urge all political actors and civilians in Tanzania and Zanzibar to refrain from violence, no matter what outcome,” wrote Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire), Cory Booker (New Jersey), Chris Coons (Delaware), Tim Kaine (Virginia) and Jacky Rosen (Nevada). “As Tanzanians prepare to vote, their leaders must ensure the process is peaceful, transparent and truly representative of its people,” they added.

Single party rule

Hassan’s Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) is the longest-serving ruling party in Africa, having held power since the country declared independence from Britain in 1961. It maintained its grip over decades of one-party rule and has won every election since multiparty democracy was reintroduced in 1992.

But there has rarely, if ever, been a level playing field. The main opposition party, Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo, or Chadema, was barred from fielding a candidate this year after the electoral commission said in April that it had failed to sign a mandatory code of conduct.

Its leader, Tindu Lissu, was tried for treason in April and acquitted last week but remains in detention. His deputy, John Heche, went missing last week and later turned up in jail, Chadema officials said. Party supporters have repeatedly been beaten and arrested by police. Two prominent pro-democracy activists — a Kenyan and a Ugandan — attending his trial as observers said they were detained, tortured and sexually assaulted by police.

Before his arrest, Lissu spearheaded a campaign dubbed “no reforms, no elections,” urging Tanzanians to boycott the polls until electoral laws were reformed. He called, among other things, for the creation of an independent electoral commission and a provision that would allow election results to be challenged in court.

Luhaga Mpina, the candidate for the Alliance for Change and Transparency, the country’s second-largest opposition party, was disqualified from running for allegedly failing to comply with nomination procedures. Sixteen minor parties have been allowed to contest the election, but they pose little threat to the CCM.

Even in Tanzania, Hassan was a relatively obscure figure until being thrust to power in 2021 after the sudden death of President John Magufuli. Initially, she seemed ready to reverse some of her predecessor’s most repressive policies, lifting a ban on political rallies and freeing imprisoned journalists.

“Clearly this is a sham election,” Sarungi told The Washington Post. “The international community must not give any legitimacy to any government formed after this election,” which she said was effectively “overturning the will of the people.”

The missing

In a report this month, Amnesty International documented 18 cases of killings, disappearances and torture of opposition figures and activists, describing a “systematic pattern of enforced disappearances.”

Among the disappeared was Amos Pambala, a Chadema official, who responded to a police summons on Oct. 4, and Abednego Sanga, a member of Chadema’s youth wing, who was abducted from a pharmacy that same day by armed men. A TikToker nicknamed Ramso, a critic of Hassan, was abducted from his home just days later. None have been seen since, according to Chadema records of the disappeared.

“Since I cannot continue to be part of a leadership that is not motivated by and adheres to the fundamental principles of the country’s constitution and party, rights, ethics, dignity and accountability to the citizens, I have voluntarily decided to resign from my leadership and government position,” Polepole wrote in his resignation letter.

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Shortly before his disappearance, a senior policeman sent Polepole a text message saying, “we will find you,” according to his brother, Augustino. His brother’s house, Augustino said, was later found full of broken items, with blood on the floor.

In a separate incident four days before Polepole’s disappearance, Augustino said their sister was slapped and handcuffed in her home by men who identified themselves as police. He added that their family was shaken by the events, and some fled their homes for safety.

“Sacrifices have to be made, we have to fight, I do not fear anymore,” Rupia said. “I was dead yesterday.”

Katharine Houreld in Nairobi contributed to this report.