On January 19, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo--on his last full day in the position--announced visa restrictions on "Tanzanian officials responsible for or complicit in undermining" the general elections held in late October last year. As of yet, none of the individuals to be sanctioned have been identified publicly. In announcing the measures, Secretary Pompeo asserted that "there are consequences for interfering in the democratic process," while the U.S. embassy in Tanzania said it had "kept its promise" to hold accountable those officials who had interfered in the elections.
Prior to Tanzania's elections, Secretary Pompeo released a nonspecific statement urging African governments to hold "free, fair, inclusive elections." The Tanzanian government, led by President John Magufuli and the increasingly authoritarian ruling party, Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), undoubtedly failed to heed Secretary Pompeo's call. However, the same could be said of incumbents in the Ivory Coast, Guinea, and Uganda, none of which faced a response from the Trump administration beyond rhetoric. While the reasoning behind the decision to single out Tanzania--one that belies the Trump administration's weak record of defending democracy in Africa--is not clear, what is apparent is that U.S.-Tanzania relations have sharply soured in the past decade.
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