The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) condemns the violent suppression and undemocratic conduct witnessed during the recent elections in the United Republic of Tanzania. The elections conducted earlier this week, which should have been free and fair, have instead been turned into a violent consolidation of power by the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party under current President Samia Suluhu Hassan. The process has been disturbed by intimidation, the exclusion of opposition parties, and the use of state violence to crush public protest.
The Tanzanian government has extended a nationwide lockdown and imposed curfews after protests erupted during and after the polls. Over 30 people are feared dead, while hundreds have been injured or arrested after armed forces were deployed, the internet was shut down, and opposition protests were met with lethal force. The shutting down of the internet is particularly sinister as it shows that state forces want to make sure any atrocities they perform on citizens remain undocumented, while also stifling organising.
The EFF notes that this all largely occurred to dissatisfaction that these elections were virtually uncontested after the main opposition, CHADEMA’s leaders were jailed, intimidated, and barred from participating. The other serious challenger, Luhaga Mpina of ACT-Wazalendo, was disqualified on technicalities, effectively removing any meaningful competition.
In the lead up to the elections, opposition rallies were blocked, and party activities were disrupted by police and intelligence operatives acting under the instruction of the ruling party. President Hassan’s government is accused of abducting, torturing, and intimidating activists, journalists, and community organisers who dared to question the regime.
This, unfortunately, is a continuation of a long and troubling history of opposition suppression in Tanzania, which also occurred under former President John Magufuli in the previous election in 2020. Despite promises of reform, President Hassan has employed the same repressive tactics.
The blocking of opposition participation, the arrests of political leaders, and the deployment of state machinery to suppress protest are uncalled for and represent a deep moral and political failure. The EFF, therefore, calls on the Tanzanian government to immediately end the lockdown, lift the curfews, restore full internet access, and release all detained political activists and opposition leaders.
We further call on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to intervene decisively and hold the Tanzanian government accountable for the violence, electoral manipulation, and systematic denial of political freedoms. The EFF further stands in solidarity with the people of Tanzania as they resist tyranny and demand their right to genuine freedom and multiparty democracy.
The EFF has a complex relationship with the South African Communist Party (SACP).
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