Tanzania’s main opposition party is not allowed to vote, according to the electoral commission

Days after the leader of Tanzania’s biggest opposition party, CHADEMA, was charged with treason for allegedly trying to sabotage the vote, a senior election commission official said on Saturday that the party has been excluded from elections scheduled for later this year.

The Independent National Elections Commission’s director of elections, Ramadhani Kailima, claimed that CHADEMA’s failure to sign a code of conduct document that was due on Saturday rendered its participation in the October presidential and parliamentary elections void.

He said that “any party that did not sign the code of conduct will not participate in the general election,” and that the prohibition would extend to all by-elections until 2030.

On Thursday, former presidential candidate and CHADEMA leader Tundu Lissu was accused of treason. As President Samia Suluhu Hassan runs for reelection, the move to dismiss his party would increase scrutiny of her human rights record.

Opposition parties and rights activists have pointed to a series of mysterious killings and kidnappings as evidence of Hassan’s government’s increasing assault on political opponents. The administration has launched an investigation into purported kidnappings and refuted the accusations.

The administration respects human rights, according to Hassan’s party Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), which has also denied any role in human rights abuses.

CHADEMA refrained from commenting on the election commission’s ruling right away. As part of its campaign for reforms, the party said earlier Saturday that it would not be attending the signing ceremony for the electoral code of conduct.

Lissu was charged by prosecutors on Thursday with inciting the populace to resist and stop the election from happening. On the treason allegation, which carries a death sentence, he was not permitted to enter a plea.

In the past, CHADEMA has vowed to abstain from the polls unless substantial changes are made to an electoral process that it claims benefits the ruling party.