25 October 2020
Copenhagen, Denmark
1:59:56
Tanzania’s 2020 elections: What’s at stake?
Published on 25 Oct 2020
Friday 23 October, 16.00-18.00 DIIS ∙ Danish Institute for International Studies Online via Zoom On Wednesday, 28 October, Tanzanians will go to the polls to elect a president, new Members of Parliament and new local government councilors.
The last elections in 2015 were the most competitive ever held in the country. In semi-autonomous Zanzibar, the elections were cancelled and rerun a year later under an opposition boycott.
This year’s elections are even harder to predict, as state-imposed restrictions have limited the activities of opposition parties, independent media and critical voices during the election period.
What is the true strength of the opposition, and how will the ruling party, CCM, react to the challenge? Tanzania had formerly acquired a reputation as East Africa’s most peaceful and stable democracy, but with a new administration taking office at the end of 2015 new signs of fragility emerged from 2016 onwards which put Tanzania at risk of democratic regression.
President John Pombe Magufuli has promised prosperity through state-led development in return for restrictions on democracy. The opposition parties reject such a tradeoff and have their own ideas about how to develop the country.
The question is how Tanzanian voters see this. This webinar brings together researchers working on various aspect of political life in Tanzania to discuss key electoral issues.
Speakers : Michaela Collord, Junior Research Fellow in Politics at New College, University of Oxford Dan Paget, Lecturer in Politics, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Aberdeen Ahmed Rajab, Journalist and political analyst Rasmus Hundsbæk Pedersen, Senior Researcher, DIIS Thabit Jacob, Visiting Researcher, DIIS Programme
- 16.00-17.05 Welcome and introduction,Rasmus Pedersen
- 16.05-16.15 Brief overview,Thabit Jacob
- 16.15-16.30 Power of the incumbent: Old vs. ‘new’ CCM,Michaela Collord
- 16.30-16.45 Analyse, Ahmed Rajab
- 16.45-17.00 How CHADEMA stands in 2020?Dan Paget
- 17.00-18.00 Q&A - moderated by Rasmus Pedersen
Source : DIISpublish