The Latest Breaking News from Samia Suluhu Hassan

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who rose from the vice presidency to become the country’s first female leader in 2021, is seeking her first elected term in office in a vote set for Oct. 29

As Tanzania’s national elections approach, a familiar humdrum of coverage has emerged. It goes like this. In its crackdowns, censorship and harassment of the opposition, Tanzania is becoming increasingly repressive.

Tanzania has conducted regular polls since the first multiparty elections in 1995. But they have often failed to meet democratic standards. The opposition has been persistently excluded and restricted, and media freedoms and civil rights have been suppressed. This pattern has come to be identified as electoral authoritarianism.

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.