Article Link: https://allafrica.com/stories/202010130007.html
In anticipation of the October 28th election, Tanzanian authorities have intensified their efforts to thwart opposition parties.
President John Magufuli, who has held power since 2015 and is seeking reelection, has taken a sharp turn away from his original promises. Magufuli was elected after being praised for his speech against corruption, and ambitious vistions for economic development and new infrastructure, but has since shifted into an autocratic leader who is uncompromising and intolerant.
In order to ensure Magufuli’s reelection, the Tanzanian government has essentially manipulated and weaponized the law in order to silence opposition. With constant new restrictions being put into place, many politicians and their supporters have been arrested and charged with selectively applied laws. Politicians of opposing parties can no longer meet with foreign diplomats or hold large gatherings, and the media is very limited.
On one occasion, Idris Sultan, a well-known comedian, was jailed after laughing at a picture of the president, though he was officially charged with failing to register a SIM card. This manipulation of the law can be acredited to the fact that Tanzania doesn’t have an independent judiciary. Tanzania’s court system is failing to uphold their constitution due to the influence that the president holds over it.
In response to this deterioration of civil libeties and democratic principles, many individuals and countries have called upon organizations like the UN, AU, SADC, and EAC to put pressure on Tanzanian authorites in order to get them to allow media outlets and NGOs to operate freely.
On the one hand, this news can be discouraging as it highlights a shift away from basic civil liberties and democratic principles, by on the other hand, it is encouraging to see how quickly this abuse of power was identified and condemned by so much of the global community. Instead of just leaving all of this be, people have been quick to point out inequality in Tanzania’s election processes and petition to IGOs (both in Africa as well as the UN). This dedication to human rights and advancing democracy in Tanzania is definitely reassuring and is likely to carry over into other countries around Tanzania. Should the IGOs and NGOs involved make a significant change in the outcome of Tanzania’s elections, it would be a good reflection on the benefits of interantional cooperation on both an inter-state and global scale.
This article relates to class in that it features IGOs (inter-governmental organizations) and NGOs (non-governmental organizations). Because of the human rights being threatened, many have called upon IGOs like the UN to investigate and pressure the Tanzanian government into reform. NGOs have also protested the Tanzanian government’s strict regulations surrounding opposition and are working to be able to operate freely within Tanzania.