Tanzanian opposition presidential candidate Luhaga Mpina has been banned from running in next month’s election for the second time, reversing a decision made last week approving his nomination.
Tanzania's electoral commission said Monday it had disqualified Mpina, the candidate for the Alliance for change and transparency (ACT-Wazalendo), the country’s second opposition party.
"The Commission has accepted the objection submitted by Mr. Hamza Saidi Johari, Attorney General, against the nomination of Mr. Luhaga Joelson Mpina as a candidate for the presidency," the commission wrote Monday in a statement in which it said it had dismissed two other objections to Mpina’s candidacy.
The decision comes four days after Mpina successfully challenged a first decision in court to disqualify him by the Office of registrar of political parties, which cited complaints that his party had failed to comply with nomination procedures.
ACT Wazalendo dismissed the disqualification as "baseless" and politically-motivated.
The party said it would formally challenge incumbent President Samia Suluhu Hassan's own nomination, which the electoral commission on Monday also rejected.
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At her election campaign launch at the end of August, Hassan told supporters her party had "accomplished major milestones" and has "the energy to continue leading our country".
She promised expanded healthcare and to tackle controversy over hospitals withholding bodies of deceased persons over unpaid bills.
She also promised to establish a reconciliation commission and start the process of drafting a new constitution, though she gave no details of what these processes would involve.
Uphill battle
Hassan came to power without being directly elected after taking over from John Magufuli when he died in March 2021, and she has taken no chances in the run-up to the presidential and parliamentary votes.
Opposition parties face an uphill battle trying to dislodge Hassan and her ruling Party of Revolution (Chama cha Mapinduzi) (CCM) party, amid a government crackdown on rivals.
Mpina’s disqualification means Hassan would potentially face opposition only from smaller parties in the 29 October election.
The leading opposition party, Chadema, was disqualified in April after it refused to sign the electoral code of conduct.
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Chadema presidential candidate, Tundu Lissu, has been in jail for over five months, charged with treason, which he has denied.
Rights groups like Amnesty International say Lissu's detention and the unexplained abductions of government critics in recent months point to a government crackdown ahead of Tanzania's election.
Hassan's candidature has faced some criticism from within her own party – such as former ambassador to Cuba, Humphrey Polepole, who resigned in July.
"I have observed with deep regret a leadership orientation that fails to adequately defend human rights, peace, and human dignity," he said in a letter to Hassan.
(with newswires)
