Dar es Salaam – Tanzania’s ruling party on Sunday nominated President Samia Suluhu Hassan as its candidate in general elections due in October in the east African country.
Hassan took office in 2021 after the sudden death of her authoritarian predecessor John Magufuli.
Her party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), held a general assembly over the weekend at the end of which it said it had named her as its sole candidate for the October poll.
After taking power, Hassan was initially feted for easing restrictions Magufuli had imposed on the opposition and the media in the country of around 67 million people.
But rights groups and Western governments have since criticised what they see as renewed repression.
Politicians belonging to the main opposition Chadema party have been arrested and several opposition figures have been abducted and murdered.
“We achieved many things in the past four years and I promise to deliver more in the coming term,” Hassan said in her closing remarks.
“I urge all to maintain our unity as we go to the elections. The polls can seriously divide us but I believe we will remain united now that we have candidates,” the president added.
Last week, the leader of the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT Wazalendo) party, Dorothy Semu, announced her intention to challenge Hassan in October.
The Chadema party has not yet begun the process of selecting its candidate, but is expected to elect a new president on Tuesday.
However, at the end of last year the party warned it intended to boycott the 2025 polls if significant reforms to the electoral system had not been implemented.
That long-standing demand has been consistently ignored by Hassan’s ruling party.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
