KwetuKwanza
Senior Member
- Mar 13, 2023
- 127
- 245
The 2025 General Election in Tanzania has passed. The presidential candidate of the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, was declared the winner with 31 million votes, equivalent to about 98% of all votes that were said to have been cast, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
INEC also announced that, in the parliamentary and local council races, CCM won overwhelmingly in most constituencies.
During and after this election, what remained was a unique and painful scar, as the country plunged into unrest. People were injured, some were killed, property was lost, and some were left permanently disabled.
Demonstrations spread across all corners of the country. Protesters raised many concerns—many claimed the election was not free and fair, that there was no real competition. Others complained about incidents of abductions, the suppression of democracy, injustices, economic hardship, and leaders accumulating wealth, among other issues.
In this election I gave myself the task of investigating one specific area involving polling agents representing candidates from opposition parties.
I asked myself: Are these agents—especially those from the opposition—truly free to perform their legal duties?
The goal of my investigation was to understand whether the election was genuinely free and fair as many government leaders claimed.
I visited two regions to conduct this inquiry, namely Simiyu Regional and Shinyanga Regional
AGENTS WERE “SHOW PERFORMERS”
I discovered that a large percentage of polling agents from opposition parties were sworn in just like CCM agents, but what they did was dangerous for democracy and revealed that the election was not free and fair.
In short, the high percentage victory for CCM was due to the election managers at the polling stations carrying out their “dirty games” to the fullest.
After the agents of the opposition parties disappeared and those of CCM remained, the ballot paper process began to be heard by the election managers at the polling stations.
AGENTS DISAPPEARED WITHOUT A TRACE
In many polling stations, opposition party agents were absent despite being sworn in. Many boycotted; others were removed after “coming to an understanding” with the other side.
Those who did show up for duty were bribed and disappeared voluntarily under questionable circumstances…
There are four centers in Shinyanga region I was told in four polling stations by supervisors that some agents “took 50,000 shillings each,” which explains why many areas had no disputes as seen in past elections.
WHY AGENTS WERE EASY TO BUY.
Many opposition candidates were not financially stable. Their ability to pay allowances to their agents was limited, making it easy for their representatives to be bought off.
Secondly, the opposition displayed in the election was weak. The main opposition party (CHADEMA) did not participate, and those who did lacked the strength to compete with CCM.
BALLOT PAPERS TICKED BY UNAUTHORIZED PEOPLE.
Some supervisors were my relatives, others my friends. They were comfortable showing me what was happening.
In one polling station, I was told that only 23 voters showed up out of the 420 registered.
A friend of mine, a teacher who served as a supervisor, said that in his station only 19 voters out of 300 showed up.
Another supervisor said that in his area, which had four stations, none of them completed even one voter register book, and none reached 20 voters.
DID EVEN CCM SUPPORTERS REFUSE TO VOTE?.
What was shocking was that if people did not show up, it means even CCM supporters did not turn out.
So how were CCM candidates for Parliament, Council, and President declared winners in landslide victories by INEC?
One thing I witnessed during the voting was this: at around 2 PM, district election supervisors, together with district council directors, began calling every polling station under their jurisdiction to inquire about the turnout.
When they were told turnout was very low, they began pressuring all supervisors at the stations to gather together and start ticking ballot papers. They were marking votes for all CCM candidates since the names and NIDA numbers of voters were available—some even with photographs.
One informant said in the area of…… “….We gathered and began ticking; it was mandatory because leaders forced us to do so. If you refused, you would face consequences, be threatened with harm, or threatened that you would not receive your allowance…”
He added that in one polling station where the ruling party’s presidential candidate initially had zero votes, supervisors ticked ballots and raised the count from zero to 320.
To confirm this, many videos circulated showing supervisors or other individuals stuffing boxes with piles of marked ballot papers.
I also found that this operation was coordinated by Regional Commissioners, District Commissioners, Directors, party leaders at district and regional levels, as well as the party’s internal system.
I noticed this during the announcement of results—supervisors took a long time to announce results because there were intense internal meetings involving the police and representatives of the positions I mentioned. Only after those meetings were the results announced.
I firmly believe this is just a small glimpse of the dark side of Tanzania’s 2025 General Election and how the polling agents ran the show.
SADC: THE ELECTION WAS NOT FAIR.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Election Observation Mission also announced that the 2025 Tanzania General Election did not meet democratic standards due to intimidation of opposition leaders, restrictions on freedoms, and a lack of transparency throughout the electoral process.
Thabo Mbeki Foundation Rejects the Election
The Thabo Mbeki Foundation, led by the former South African president, also criticized the election process and referenced the violence that resulted in many deaths.
The foundation stated that the results announced by Tanzania’s Independent Electoral Commission did not reflect the will of the people, and that the existing government was installed through a mixture of force and manipulation.
European Parliament Also Objected
On November 27, 2025, the European Parliament debated a resolution regarding the events of October 29, 2025—election day and the aftermath in Tanzania, as well as human rights issues, including the case of opposition leader Tundu Lissu (CHADEMA).
The Parliament was set to vote on a resolution calling on the European Commission and EU to suspend direct support to the Tanzanian authorities due to what occurred during and after the election, including human rights abuses.
United States Speaks Out
The U.S. Embassy issued several statements expressing concern over what happened during the election, including questions about democracy, human rights, accountability, and good governance in Tanzania.
