Voters in mainland Tanzania and the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar will vote in two weeks’ time to elect their presidents, MPs and councilors across the country.
To overthrow the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, which has been in power for decades, the country’s two leading opposition parties have decided to form what is known as a “loose” collaboration and support a joint candidate for October 28 polls in every region.
Freeman Mbowe, leader of the opposition Chadema party, said on October 4 that his party would withdraw its Zanzibar presidential candidate and Seif Sharif Hamad from the ACT Wazalendo party against incumbent President Ali Mohamed Shein.
The announcement came about two weeks after Hamad, ACT-Wazalendo’s national chairman, said his party would support Chademas Tundu Lissu on the mainland to challenge President John Magufuli.
Since then, several top leaders from both parties, such as Zitto Kabwe from ACT-Wazalendo and Salum Mwalimu from Chadema, have regularly confirmed each other as members of parliament and council candidates at various election campaign events.
Notwithstanding the disagreement over the allocation of local posts, another factor has prevented the two parties from formalizing their collaboration.
According to Tanzanian law, parties interested in an official coalition must sign an agreement at least 90 days before the elections and have it approved by the Chancellor of the country’s political parties.
While informal collaboration isn’t technically against the rules, the political parties chancellor last month warned party officials not to support each other’s candidates.
A few months ago, several smaller opposition parties voted in favor of candidates for the incumbent CCM. At the time, these collaborations were not objected to by the Chancellor of the political parties, but retroactive warnings were issued following warnings to ACT-Wazalendo and Chadema.
Cooperation “a chance”
Opposition politicians have repeatedly alleged government harassment campaigns, including the disqualification of dozens of parliamentary candidates from participating in the upcoming elections.
The Zanzibari journalist and political analyst Salma Said pointed to the pragmatism of the cooperation between ACT-Wazalendo and Chadema in view of the mass disqualifications that are likely to weaken the traditional strongholds of the two main opposition parties.
“Zanzibar has more ACT wazalendo candidates disqualified than chadema, as has some mainland constituencies where more chadema candidates have been disqualified than ACT wazalendo,” she said.
“This cooperation offers the opportunity to be represented by the opposition.”
CCM and its predecessor TANU have ruled Tanzania without interruption since independence in 1961. She has won every election since multiparty politics returned to the country in 1995.
Five years ago, at a time when public opinion began to turn against the CCM as a result of endemic corruption, many believe that Magufuli’s nomination saved the party from defeat.
At the time, Magufuli was Minister of Roads and not an obvious choice, but he was known for his no-nonsense approach and outspoken stance against corruption.
Since then, the party has retained the support of many Tanzanians, in part due to its socio-economic policies and infrastructure development, which Magufuli has spearheaded since taking office.
However, critics of his government have criticized the deterioration in human rights and the shrinking democratic space in the country over the past five years – and for many voters, these two issues are central to this year’s general election.
But even if the opposition succeeds in increasing their numbers, the longevity of the collaboration is uncertain given the deep-seated distrust between members of both parties, said Thabit Jacob, a Danish-based Tanzanian political analyst.
“Nevertheless, the cooperation is beneficial for both sides due to their strengths and weaknesses. For example, Chadema has a stronger base in northern Tanzania, while ACT-Wazalendo has more support in the southern region and on Zanzibar, ”he said.
As always, the 2020 campaign season was fueled by enormous, lively political rallies. While CCM’s flagship events are spearheaded by the likes of afro-pop superstar Diamond Platnumz, the opposition is limited to blowing up their taped campaign songs and Bob Marley’s One Love.
And while both of the leading opposition parties are still attracting large crowds, some say they are doing so after five years of curtailing political freedoms that have resulted in increasingly unequal playing fields.
Earlier this week, Amnesty International criticized the Magufuli government for tightening its crackdown on critics and opposition parties in the run-up to the elections.
In its report, the international rights group said opposition parties were subject to harassment, arbitrary arrest and intimidation by authorities, and accused the government of selectively using the law to hinder the efforts of their opponents.
Shortly after his election victory, Magufuli banned political rallies, which had been the main way for opposition fighters to get their message across since the country’s first multi-party elections in 1995.
This allowed the opposition to campaign only in the immediate run-up to the elections, while the sitting president could do so throughout the year.
The Tanzanian President John Magufuli was elected in 2015 on the basis of promises to fight corruption and promote infrastructure development [File: Ericky Boniphace/AFP]During his presidency, Magufuli spent much of his time traveling the country to meet citizens. Nicknamed “The Bulldozer,” he has even earned a reputation for resolving voter grievances immediately during the tour, often issuing orders to local government officials who are live on the roadside at roadside meet and greets.
Meanwhile, live broadcasts of parliamentary sessions in 2017 have been suspended due to protests by CCM against their costs. Together with the ban on rallies and the frequent breakup of internal meetings by the police, the cancellation of the programs dealt another major blow to opposition politicians trying to get in touch with voters.
Regardless, a gradual crackdown on the media has effectively mutilated critical voices – since 2016, more than 10 branches have been closed for at least a week for violating increasingly restrictive rules. As a result, many media organizations avoid interviews with opposing politicians for fear of fines or closures.
The government has previously denied allegations of suppressing dissent.
With this in mind, political analyst Elsie Eyakuze said that while working together may seem a practical option for the two leading opposition parties, such a move is not without its flaws.
“In the short term, opposition cooperation is a pragmatic move to break the ruling party’s stranglehold,” she said, adding that such a move calls on voters to “abandon loyalty, ideals and even critical scrutiny.” the candidate offered.
“In the long term, they make politics a black and white subject of raw competition. We are deprived of a number of ideas and rich debate. They feed themselves into a personality cult and there is no clarity as to how they would rule if they won.
“So short-term opportunism could be exciting and drive voters into a bottom wave, and like any far-reaching euphoric moment, it can hide many pitfalls.”
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