Tanzania president named by party as candidate in October polls

Tanzania’s ruling party on Sunday nominated President Samia Suluhu Hassan as its candidate in general elections due to take place in October in the east African country.

Hassan took office in 2021 after the sudden death of her authoritarian predecessor John Magufuli.

Her party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), held a general assembly over the weekend at the end of which it said it had named her as its sole candidate for the October poll.

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After taking power, Hassan was initially feted for easing restrictions that Magufuli had imposed on the opposition and the media in the country of around 67 million people.

But rights groups and Western governments have criticized what they see as renewed repression, with the arrests of Chadema party politicians as well as abductions and murders of opposition figures.