2020 Tanzanian general election


General elections will be held in Tanzania on 28 October 2020 to elect the President and National Assembly.

Background

In April 2019, Livingstone Lusinde, an MP for the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party, suggested that holding a presidential election in 2020 was not a good idea due to the cost, and that the money should be used for development projects. The proposal was made in order to keep president John Magufuli in the office till 2025.
Opposition parties Chadema, Alliance for Change and Transparency, and NCCR-Mageuzi announced they had started negotiations to form an alliance ahead of the election.
The election commission announced that the campaign would run from August 26 to October 27.

Electoral system

The president is elected by plurality voting; the candidate who receives the most votes is elected. Article 39 of the 1977 Constitution requires candidates to be Tanzanian citizens by birth, at least 40 years old, be nominated by a political party of which they are a member, be qualified to be an MP or a member of the Zanzibar House of Representatives, and not have any convictions related to tax evasion.

Presidential candidates

CCM

The ruling CCM has dominated the political scene since the nation attained independence in 1961. Following the restoration of multi-party politics in 1992, it has retained its popularity and the voters' confidence, winning all of the past five general elections. The previous election was won by Dr. John Magufuli, who will be running for a re-election for his second term.

Opposition

According to the electoral body, more than thirty million voters had updated their information in the voter registry in between July 2019 and February 2020.