Tanzania 2025 Elections: Why Samia’s Political Reforms Have Not Removed the Magufuli Legacy

Three years have passed since former Tanzanian president John Magufuli passed away and Samia Suluhu Hassan assumed office.

Tanzania’s fifth president was Magufuli. After taking office in 2015, he was controversially re-elected in 2020 in a contentious election.

Throughout his six years in office, Magufuli made significant improvements to Tanzania’s political environment. Divergent views were aroused by his strategy both domestically and internationally.

Within the nation, he was nearly equally adored and despised.

His critics said that he isolated himself internationally and that there was a reduction in political and civic space during his reign. Magufuli’s no-nonsense style early in his reign was praised all around the world. He publicly chastised public servants and demanded accountability and fiscal restraint.

But as time went on, his detractors noticed that his approach was almost dictatorial. He suppressed the media, outlawed political gatherings, vowed to destroy the opposition, and forbade teenage moms from returning to school.

He was viewed as an anti-imperialist development figure by his devoted followers. They supported him because they saw him as a kind dictator—a ruler with total authority who exercises it for the good of the people.

The mid-March anniversary of his passing offered a chance to consider his legacy and the nature of the political discourse preceding Tanzania’s elections in 2025.

Most of Magufuli’s backwards ideas have been undone in the three years after Samia Suluhu Hassan assumed the presidency after his passing. In addition, she reorganized the administration and the party.

As a professor of international relations with over ten years of experience studying party politics and Tanzanian democratization, I think these two sets of changes will be evident in the election.

Samia’s decision to reverse its oppressive policies will boost opposition efforts. Furthermore, by 2025, her modifications to the ruling party will solidify its hold on the majority vote.

After uniting her base, she managed to win back a portion of the Magufuli supporters. These measured moves toward power consolidation will be crucial to the elections of 2025.