How does Tanzania’s electoral system work?
Tanzania has a first-past-the-post system, in which the President and Vice President are jointly and directly elected through a simple majority popular vote. They provide five years of service, renewable once.
The election of October 29, 2025 is a bit unusual, as incumbent President Samia Suluhu Hassan is running for her first presidential term. He assumed the office of President in 2021 following the death of President John Magufuli. Hassan, the first woman to lead Tanzania, was her deputy.
Tanzania has a special relationship with the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar off the coast to the east. While the mainland and Zanzibar have formed the United Republic of Tanzania since 1964, these regions differ significantly in population, colonial history, religious composition, and economy.
For example, Zanzibar has a population of about 1.9 million out of Tanzania’s total population of 68 million. About 98% of Zanzibari are Muslim, while about 63% of Tanzanians overall are Christian.
Thus, of the 264 members of Parliament directly elected to represent constituencies, 214 are reserved for the mainland and 50 for Zanzibar. Women are allocated 113 additional seats in Parliament, and are indirectly elected by their respective parties.
Who can take the post of President?
Seventeen candidates and their parties are officially contesting the elections. However, Hassan of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party is the only nationally recognized candidate, and the two main opposition parties, Chadema and ACT-Wazalendo (Alliance for Change and Transparency), are banned.
Prominent candidates of both parties have also been banned from standing in the elections.
Major concerns for voters
Tanzania has made significant progress in building roads, power lines, rail and internet access, but there is still a wide gap between rural communities and growing urban areas.
Service delivery – from clean water to reliable electricity – and gaps in educational and employment opportunities are key issues for voters. Some say that despite five decades of rule, the CCM has not fulfilled the promises.
Tanzania is the most populous country in East Africa, and demographic trends place the country among the fastest growing populations globally.
Young, dynamic voters are increasingly making their voices heard. But concerns remain about voter apathy, or reluctance to vote, as the CCM stifles dissent.
How have the last elections gone?
One interesting possibility is how the 2025 election will reflect Hassan’s position within his own party, and how his politicians compete for office.
The CCM has been effectively in power since Tanzania’s independence from Britain in 1961. It is considered to be the party of Julius Nyerere, who is still held in high esteem. Analysts view the CCM as one of the last parties of Africa’s liberation era still competing and dominating elections.
From 1977 to 1992, Tanzania was a one-party state, with the CCM, essentially a merger of the Tanganyika National Union and the Zanzibari Afro-Shirazi Party, having influence.
Chadema’s best election result came in 2015 when its presidential candidate Edward Lowassa won almost 40% of the vote, trailing Magufuli’s 58%. In 2020, the opposition party’s vote share dropped to just 13%, with its leaders claiming irregularities in the voting.
protests were suppressed
Hassan was praised for easing the repression of political opponents and censorship of the media after coming to power in 2021, which was linked to Magufuli’s legacy. In 2023, he lifted the ban on opposition-led rallies, and was praised for several reforms.
However, Hassan is now facing increasing criticism over alleged state-sanctioned kidnappings and arrests of human rights activists and opposition politicians. Chadema leader Tundu Lissu is facing trial for treason after his arrest last April while demanding electoral reforms.
Humphrey Hesron Polepole, a vocal critic of the government and former Tanzanian ambassador to Cuba, disappeared in October. Ali Mohammed Kibao, a senior CHADEMA official, was kidnapped in September 2024 and found dead. In preparation for 2025 voting,
Human Rights Watch has warned “Deepening Repression” Election threat, while Amnesty International said documents Authorities committed “systemic human rights violations”, including “enforced disappearances and torture” and “extrajudicial killings of opposition figures and activists”.
Edited by: Benita Van Eysen