Tanzanians go to the polls this year in local elections to vote for street and village chairpersons. This will be followed by a general election next year for councillors, members of parliament and the president.
Both sets of elections are being watched closely. They’re the first to be held following a raft of changes over the past eight years to drag Tanzania away from its history of operating as a one-party state and towards a more multiparty arrangement.
This history has included restrictions on opposition parties’ activities. For example, between 2016 and 2023, political rallies were banned in Tanzania. This was a huge setback given that rallies are the core campaigning and mobilising tool used by opposition political parties.
