Tanzania’s opposition presidential hopeful Luhaga Mpina is facing renewed uncertainty over his candidacy after the government and two rival contenders lodged objections just days after the High Court ordered his reinstatement for October’s election.
On 14 September the Attorney General, together with candidates from the Alliance for African Farmers Party (AAFP) and the National Reconstruction Alliance (NRA), formally challenged Mpina’s nomination, claiming he lacks valid sponsorship from ACT Wazalendo. Independent candidacies are barred under Tanzanian electoral law, which requires presidential hopefuls to be backed by a registered party.
The objections revive the same procedural dispute that saw Mpina disqualified in August, when the electoral commission ruled his nomination contravened ACT Wazalendo’s internal rules. But on 11 September the High Court overturned that decision, declaring it unconstitutional and accusing the commission of overreaching by acting on instructions from the Registrar of Political Parties. The ruling prompted the commission to confirm Mpina and his running mate, Fatma Abdulhabid Ferej, a day later.
ACT Wazalendo has denounced the fresh objections as “plots and deliberate schemes” to weaken a formidable challenger to incumbent President Samia Suluhu Hassan. The party’s legal team is preparing rebuttals, while also filing a constitutional petition contesting the Registrar’s intervention.
In a counterattack, the opposition party says it will challenge Samia’s candidacy, alleging CCM violated its own rules by endorsing her without a formal application or grassroots sponsorship. CCM insists its National Congress, which nominated her in January, had full authority.
The escalating legal wrangles threaten to overshadow policy debate ahead of the 29 October polls. They also deepen concern about Tanzania’s democratic trajectory, with the main opposition CHADEMA already excluded and its leader, Tundu Lissu, imprisoned on treason charges.
