2020 Tanzanian general election

In April 2019, Livingstone Lusinde, an MP for the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party, suggested that holding a presidential election in 2020 was not a good idea due to the cost, and that the money should be used for development projects.[3] The proposal was likely made in order to keep President John Magufuli in office till 2025, with Lusinde saying "no one can defeat president Magufuli" anyway.[4]

Opposition parties Chadema, Alliance for Change and Transparency, and NCCR-Mageuzi announced they had started negotiations to form an alliance ahead of the election.[5]

The election commission announced that the campaign would run from 26 August to 27 October 2020.[6]

The president is elected by plurality voting; the candidate who receives the most votes is elected. Article 39(1) of the 1977 Constitution requires candidates to be Tanzanian citizens by birth, at least 40 years old, be nominated by a political party of which they are a member, be qualified to be an MP or a member of the Zanzibar House of Representatives, and not have any convictions related to tax evasion.[7]

On 24 October 2020 the opposition claimed that the government was interfering in the election by making it more difficult to accredit thousands of opposition electoral observers, whose job is to ensure that the election is fair.[17] The National Electoral Commission, whose members are appointed by the president, barred Lissu from campaigning after he said Magufuli had organised a meeting with election officials.[18] From 27 October, the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA) blocked several popular social media websites to restrict communication amid violence in the islands of Zanzibar, where dozens have been shot dead and tens have been injured by the police and other security forces.[17]

According to Al Jazeera, "The election was marred by allegations of arrests of candidates and protesters, restrictions on agents of political parties to access polling stations, multiple voting, pre-ticking of ballots, and widespread blocking of social media." A local elections watchdog group noted a heavy deployment of military and police whose conduct created a “climate of fear”.[19]

The Tanzania electoral watch panel,[20] U.S. State Department,[21] Commonwealth,[22] and European Union[23] were very critical about the elections.

On 10 November 2020, OHCHR published a declaration on the electoral process and its consequences.[24] It was at once answered by Tanzania government.[25]