Tanzania’s largest opposition party claims that the country’s election prohibition is unconstitutional

Days after its leader was detained and accused of treason, Tanzania’s major opposition party, CHADEMA, declared on Tuesday that its exclusion from elections scheduled for later this year was unconstitutional.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said on Saturday that CHADEMA is not qualified to run in the October presidential and parliamentary elections because it did not sign an election code of conduct document.

After surviving 16 gunshot wounds in 2017, party leader Tundu Lissu was accused of treason last week for allegedly inciting the populace to rebel and tamper with the election.

The government’s rights record is likely to come under further scrutiny after accusing Lissu of a capital offense and prohibiting his party from running in the elections.

“A code of conduct established by the National Electoral Commission cannot take away a constitutional right,” stated CHADEMA’s Chief Attorney Rugemeleza Nshala.

A spokeswoman for the election commission was not immediately available for comment by Reuters.

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.

“Our position is still the same: no reforms, no elections,” Nshala stated.

Citing a series of mysterious kidnappings and murders, opposition parties and rights activists have charged President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration with stepping up its assault on political rivals.

The administration has launched an investigation into purported kidnappings and refuted the accusations.