DW Declares Tanzania's Election Over, Years Early
DW's recent piece, 'Tanzania election: Why CCM is 'assured' of the presidency,' offers a refreshingly blunt assessment: the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party's victory in 2025 is not just likely, but 'assured.' This isn't exactly a groundbreaking investigative scoop; the CCM has been in power since 1964. (One might call that assured.) The article cites factors like President Samia Suluhu Hassan's
consolidation of power, opposition disarray, and a media landscape 'dominated' by the ruling party. It barely raises an eyebrow, however, at the implications for, you know, competitive elections. This 'assurance' is a polite way of saying the electoral framework is designed for a single outcome. The report mentions 'new laws introduced by Hassan’s administration,' which, historically speaking,
often means a tightening of control disguised as reform. When the press freely acknowledges a ruling party's guaranteed victory years in advance, perhaps the 'election' itself is just a formality—a theatrical production for international observers who prefer predictable stability over messy, genuine democratic contestation. How many times have we seen this script play out, dressed up as a
'transition' rather than an entrenchment?