July 2025, Volume 36, Issue 3
President Samia Suluhu Hassan came into office promising democratic reforms. Four years later, it is clear she is more of a performer than a reformer. Far from delivering on her promises to unwind Tanzania’s authoritarian machinery, she is relying on the repressive tools we know so well.
April 2021, Volume 32, Issue 2
With brutal resolve, the ruling party sought not merely to win an election, but to annihilate the opposition. Now, with President John Magufuli gone, that strategic rationale will likely only grow stronger.
April 2021, Volume 32, Issue 2
While many blamed President John Magufuli for throwing the country off its democratizing track, the truth is that the party that has ruled Tanzania for six decades has always been authoritarian.
July 2017, Volume 28, Issue 3
Since Tanzania’s 2015 elections, rising repression and opposition protest have displaced an older dynamic of comparatively restrained and unchallenged dominance by the ruling party.
October 2009, Volume 20, Issue 4
The country's long-ruling party has never faced a serious electoral challenge—due not only to opposition weakness but also to a deliberate strategy of suppression.
April 2008, Volume 19, Issue 2
The legislature is emerging as a "player" in some African countries, though not in others. What is the relationship between legislative development and democratic consolidation in Africa?
January 2026, Volume 37, Issue 1
As Tanzania’s October 2025 sham election got underway, protests broke out across the country, sparking a brutal regime crackdown. That brief reign of terror marks a turning point for both the ruling party and the Tanzanian people. There is no going back.
January 2026, Volume 37, Issue 1
Maria Sandu on Russian interference; Ekrem İmamoğlu in solidarity with Europe’s democratic cities; opposition leader Tundu Lissu on inhumane prison conditions; a Malagasy student’s speech to gendarmes; a Nepalese student’s class speech against corruption; and the Hong Kong Alliance’s demand to release two political prisoners.
Tanzania’s October election was a sham. When people rose up in protest, the regime responded with a brutal crackdown. That reign of terror marks a turning point for the country, and there is no going back.
President Hassan promised Tanzanians freedom, transparency, and reform. Instead, she has delivered repression, violence, and arrests as she bars anyone who dares challenge her.
