Tanzania: President Magufuli Nominated Candidate For His Succession By The Ruling Party

Members of Tanzania's ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party unanimously nominated President John Magufuli for re-election on Saturday during general elections scheduled for October.

All the members of the CCM present at a national congress broadcast live from the capital Dodoma, voted for Mr. Magufuli, the only candidate for the nomination of his party for the presidential whose exact date has not yet been fixed.

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“I am elected by all the members of this assembly, but we should not expect to win the general elections 100%. Thank you all for your support, but let us work hard and sell (well to the Tanzanians) our political program ”, declared the president in his speech to the congress.

In addition to their president, the Tanzanians will elect their deputies and city councilors in October.

Mr. Magufuli, elected in October 2015, was accused of having favored during his first mandate the restriction of public freedoms, strengthened his authoritarianism and minimized the danger of the new coronavirus in this East African country.

Since taking office, the president has tackled corruption but at the cost of authoritarian governance, earning him heavy criticism for human rights violations.

Opposition parties have called for an independent electoral commission, saying they will not call for a boycott, as they did last year in local elections.

“Our electoral commissions are not independent and we demand reforms, in vain. However, our party decided not to boycott the elections this time, ”said Seif Sharif, president of the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT).

Over the next five years, the CCM says it wants to focus on job creation, good governance, justice and agriculture.

The party also chose Hussein Mwinyi, son of former President Ali Hassan Mwinyi, as the candidate for the presidency of the semi-autonomous island Zanzibar.