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https://theconversation.com/tanzanias-samia-hassan-has-ushered-in-a-new-era-of-authoritarianism-heres-how-266598>
"As Tanzania’s national elections approach, a familiar humdrum of coverage has
emerged. It goes like this. In its crackdowns, censorship and harassment of the
opposition, Tanzania is becoming increasingly repressive.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who is seeking re-election in the October 2025
poll, increasingly resembles her predecessor, John Pombe Magufuli. Before he
died in office in 2021, he banned media, censored journalists, hamstrung the
opposition and rigged elections. Hassan is reverting to his tactics to lengthen
her advantage in the elections.
Yet, I would go further. Hassan has become, in key ways, more autocratic than
Magufuli. She has crossed autocratic thresholds that have not been breached
since Tanzania’s transition to multipartyism in 1992. Most crucially, she has
put her chief opponent Tundu Lissu on trial for treason. She has kept another
out of the presidential race. Additionally, perhaps her most vocal critic
within her own party has been abducted.
I have been writing about autocracy in Tanzania and chronicling the struggles
of Tanzania’s opposition for over a decade. From this vantage point, I describe
what makes this election different.
Many authoritarian regimes today take the form of what political scientists
call electoral authoritarianism. It is a mixture of the outward form of
multiparty democracy and autocratic practices that tilt the playing field in
the incumbent’s favour.
Yet, the steps taken by Hassan’s regime amount to something more draconian than
this.
Barring your opponents from contesting the presidency is not tilting the
playing field in your favour. As I argue in a recent paper, it is closing the
playing field altogether. Tanzanian columnist Jenerali Ulimwengu noted in a
recent column: “there is no competition worth the name”.
Hassan has broken Tanzania’s political norms, and done so now, it seems,
because the international context permits it more than any time in the last 30
years.
The ominous implication of all this is that an era of autocratic rule – which
is yet more extreme than any endured in the last 30 years – has arrived."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
