Dar es Salaam – Tanzania’s electoral commission has once again barred opposition presidential candidate Luhaga Joelson Mpina from contesting in the 29 October polls, reversing a ruling that had briefly cleared his candidacy.
The commission announced on Monday that it had accepted an objection filed by Attorney General Hamza Saidi Johari, effectively disqualifying Mpina, who was running under the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT-Wazalendo), the country’s second-largest opposition party.
The move comes only four days after Mpina won a legal battle to overturn an earlier disqualification by the Registrar of Political Parties, which had accused his party of failing to comply with nomination procedures.
ACT-Wazalendo rejected the new ruling, describing it as “baseless” and politically driven. The party has also vowed to challenge the nomination of incumbent President Samia Suluhu Hassan, although the electoral commission confirmed her candidacy had already been approved.
At the launch of her campaign in late August, President Hassan told her supporters that her party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), had achieved “major milestones” and was ready to continue leading the country. She pledged reforms including expanded healthcare, resolving disputes over hospitals withholding bodies of deceased persons due to unpaid bills, and initiating a reconciliation commission alongside a new constitutional process.
Hassan, who rose to power in March 2021 following the death of John Magufuli, has consolidated her position ahead of the election, leaving opposition groups facing a steep uphill battle. With Mpina barred, Hassan’s main challenge will likely come from smaller parties, as the leading opposition group, Chadema, was already disqualified in April after refusing to sign the electoral code of conduct.
Chadema’s presidential candidate, Tundu Lissu, has been detained for over five months on treason charges, which he denies. Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, have raised concerns over his imprisonment and a spate of abductions targeting government critics.
Even within the ruling CCM, dissent has surfaced. Former ambassador to Cuba, Humphrey Polepole, resigned in July, accusing Hassan’s administration of failing to defend human rights and human dignity.
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