Why 2020 polls is seen as the darkest for Tanzania's democracy

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s transition to democracy has been long, with its own fair share of ups and downs.

The setbacks, which were mainly underlined by a lack of level political playing field, did not prevent the Opposition from making some gains in civic and parliamentary elections year after year, reaching a peak of 68 elected MPs in Parliament in 2015.

This translated into a total of 115 legislators once Special Seat MPs were added, against the total number of 388 MPs.

It was, therefore, a reddening shock when President John Magufuli, who was elected in the closely contested elections of 2015, started to make decisions and take actions that somehow stifled the opposing, thereby, threatening democratic gains accrued since 1992.

The reversal of Tanzania’s democratic advancements culminated in the 2020 elections. In these polls CCM won by a landslide in civic, parliamentary and presidential elections like never before, wiping out any hope for strong, credible, alternative voices in the town councils and in the august House.

President Magufuli won 84 per cent of all votes, with his major opponent, Tundu Lissu, coming a distant second with 13 per cent. In the parliamentary elections CCM won 258 seats, ACT-Wazalendo 4 seats, CUF 1 seat and Chadema 1 seat. The latter was the official opposition with the majority of those elected during the 2015 polls.

CCM’s apparent herculean gains in the elections were not only Opposition’s loss but also a sad dawn on the country’s democracy.

Independent observers and researchers say the 2020 polls marked a watershed moment in Tanzania’s democratic journey. As it is almost always the case in historical turning points, the democratic loss occasioned by the 2020 elections could take years to repair despite optimism occasioned by the current positive push for a more inclusive system from those holding the levers of political power.

As some analysts have noted, the current rhetoric for reconciliatory politics has not been accompanied by any meaningful legal reforms to undo the draconian laws adopted in the 2015-2020 period.

The issue, according to analysts, is for stakeholders to be careful and vigilant in hoping and expecting CCM to take the lead in introducing reforms that will end up watering down the significant electoral gains it made through the 2020 elections.

The build-up to 2020 democratic onslaught

After winning the highly competitive elections in 2015, President Magufuli immediately launched into a premeditated strategy to ‘kill’ the Opposition and ‘stifle’ internal democracy even within his own party, CCM.

Why he did what did or whether he had the blessings of the patrons of his party for doing what he did will remain a subject for research and debates for academicians and political stakeholders for a long time.

Ban on rallies

Barely a year after he took office President Magufuli banned political rallies and demonstrations by the Opposition till the 2020 election campaigns. He claimed that public political activities prevented people from focusing on work.

The ban first announced by the Police and then by President Magufuli himself, was effectuated even as the then Political Parties Act allowed fully or partially registered parties to hold rallies.

Despite the fact that some justifications were made to allow elected politicians to hold rallies. in their constituents the ban, itself, was against the law. The Political Parties Act was eventually amended in January 2020, introducing sweeping changes that made the Registrar of Political Parties the de facto boss of political parties.

Authorities went ahead to arrest Opposition politicians holding rallies or demonstrating. Security enforcement officers started even targeting indoor events that ended being fully banned a few years later.

The failure to publicly organise and communicate with its base was the first blow to the Opposition. Unfortunately CCM’s officials from the party secretariat were not affected by the ban as they continued to hold rallies and indoor meetings countrywide.

Harassment

Soon after the ban on political rallies harassment of Opposition politicians, activists and journalists intensified judicially and extra-judicially.

They were hauled before courts of law and some, including Opposition MPs ended up being jailed for insulting the President and some other trumped up charges.

Others disappeared without trace and yet others were abducted, tortured and some killed by unknown assailants in suspect circumstances linked to politics. In September 2017, outspoken Chadema MP and Opposition Chief Whip, Tundu Lissu, survived an assassination attempt in Dodoma. This intensified a climate of fear among MPs and Opposition politicians.

A few months after, a wave of Opposition MPs started to decamp to CCM. While some claimed they were attracted to President Magufuli’s ‘policies of development’ some of those who stayed in the Opposition claimed in Parliament attempts to ‘buy’ them into joining the ruling party had been made.

The defections were capped with the return of Edward Lowassa, who had been Magufuli’s opponent in 2015 presidential elections, to CCM in March 2019.

As all this was taking place the Media Services Act, 2016 was passed in Parliament. This law introduced jail terms to journalists for defamation, marking the first time the offense was made a crime in Tanzania. The move was rightly regarded as meant to silence journalists. In 2019 the Electronic and Postal Communications Act (Epoca) was passed by Parliament and tightened further the noose around media houses in necks by heavily regulating their online platforms.

Several newspapers, including Tanzania Daima and Mwanahalisi and The Citizen were temporarily and permanently banned for violating the draconian Statistics Act and the Media Services Act. The intensified enforcement of the two laws and the Electronic and Postal Communications (Online Content) Regulations made after the enactment of Epoca had the effect of closing down the space for public discourse, criticism against the government and airing of alternative voices.

Local government elections

The local government elections conducted in November 2019 was a precursor to what was to befall the Opposition in 2020. In those elections CCM won 99 per cent of the 12,000 village chairmanships positions and 4,000 street chairman positions. Opposition candidates were roundly disqualified during candidate registrations, which prompted the Opposition political parties to boycott the polls.

The 2020 General Election was also marred by irregularities, according to the Opposition, which refused to accept the results. Whether this was true or not, the fact is that the elections were held in a climate of fear and personal insecurity on individual Opposition politicians. It was a watershed moment that chartered a different course of Tanzania’s democratic for which the future now remains a matter of conjecture