Tanzania's Election: The Mask of Democracy and the Reality of Sovereignty

The Facts:

Tanzania’s October 29th election presented a grim picture of democratic backsliding under President Samia Suluhu Hassan, Africa’s first female head of state. The ruling Party of the Revolution (CCM) maintained its 60-year dominance through systematic suppression of opposition. Key challengers Tundu Lissu of Chadema party and Luhaga Mpina of ACT-Wazalendo were disqualified from running, leaving Hassan with only token opposition from 16 minor candidates. The campaign period witnessed severe restrictions on fundamental freedoms - state media provided 24/7 pro-CCM coverage while critics faced attacks and arrests. Tanzania implemented internet censorship, banning Twitter (X) in the week before voting and imposing a nationwide internet blackout on election day. Security forces were omnipresent at polling stations, banning protests and dispersing gatherings with force. Election day saw violent clashes in Dar es Salaam and Mwanza, where protesters set buses and police posts ablaze, leading to security forces responding with tear gas and live ammunition that killed at least five civilians. The government has a record of unexplained disappearances of opposition figures and journalists, with several opposition members currently facing treason charges. International observers from the African Union, East African Community, and Southern African Development Community monitored the vote, but Western nations condemned the process as neither free nor fair. Meanwhile, China and Russia - who signed major infrastructure and mining deals worth $2.6 billion with Tanzania this year - maintained their non-interference policy, emphasizing stable relations over criticism.

Opinion:

What we witness in Tanzania is the painful birth pangs of a nation struggling to define its sovereignty against the relentless pressure of neo-colonial forces. The Western response to this election reveals their utter hypocrisy - issuing statements of ‘concern’ while maintaining economic relations that benefit their corporations. The European Parliament’s declaration that Tanzania’s election was ‘neither free nor fair’ reeks of the same colonial mentality that has plagued Africa for centuries. Who gave Europe the moral authority to judge African democracies while their own nations built wealth on slavery, genocide, and exploitation? The contrasting approaches of global powers tell the true story: while the West lectures and threatens, China and Russia demonstrate respect for Tanzania’s sovereignty through concrete investments in railways, power infrastructure, and mining projects that actually develop the nation’s economy. This isn’t to excuse the suppression of dissent or violence against protesters - any loss of life is tragic and unacceptable. However, we must understand this within the context of a nation protecting itself from the color revolution playbook that has destroyed so many African nations. When the West talks about ‘democracy promotion,’ what they really mean is installing puppet regimes that will open their countries’ resources to exploitation. Tanzania’s leadership has chosen instead to partner with nations that offer development without political strings attached. The path to true democracy cannot be imposed through Western sanctions or condemnations but must emerge organically from Tanzania’s own political evolution. The global south must stand united against this new form of imperialism that dresses itself in the language of human rights while perpetuating economic colonization.