Tanzania’s opposition candidate for president is denied for a second time
Tanzania’s electoral board said on Monday that Luhaga Mpina, the opposition presidential candidate, had been disqualified for the second time. This was a change from two days earlier, when Mpina’s nomination had been approved.
Since Mpina, the leader of the country’s second-largest opposition party, was disqualified, President Samia Suluhu Hassan will have a clear run in next month’s election. Only candidates from small parties will be able to run.
Also, the main opposition party CHADEMA will not be able to vote because it was kicked out of the race in April for not signing the electoral code of conduct as part of its call for changes to the way elections work.
Candidates for president of Chad, Tundu Lissu, have been in jail for more than five months since April, when they were charged with treason. He has said he is not guilty.
Rights groups like Amnesty International say that Lissu’s arrest and the recent disappearances of people who spoke out against the government are signs of a crackdown by the government before the election.
Mpina, a former member for the ruling party, had his nomination papers accepted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the weekend. This was after a high court decision overturned an earlier decision by INEC to disqualify him.
“We hope that the commission will drop all of its objections against our candidate so that he can continue running for office and try to lead Tanzanians,” ACT-Wazalendo’s assistant spokesperson, Shangwe Ayo, said in a statement.
