Tanzania's Top Opposition Party Barred From Upcoming Election

Tanzania's main opposition party, Chadema, is disqualified from running in this year's general election, the country's election chief said, after the party allegedly refused to sign the electoral code of conduct. 

The decision came days after its leader Tundu Lissu was arrested and charged with treason after a rally in southern Tanzania at which he called for electoral reforms. Ramadhani Kailima, director of elections at the Independent National Elections Commission (INEC), said Chadema failed to sign the government's electoral code of conduct.

Lissu, who was expected to challenge President Samia Suluhu Hassan in the elections, argued that no free and fair elections could occur without significant reforms, including changes to the electoral commission's structure. The opposition leader was arrested on numerous occasions and, in 2017, survived an assassination attempt in which his vehicle was shot at 16 times.