Episode 32: Democratic Resilience Mini-series - Tanzania

Chatham House

Partial reforms in Tanzania’s political and socio-economic environment have been widely lauded since President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s sudden rise to office in March 2021, but progress towards the reconciliation and repair of Tanzania’s democratic system remains incomplete. Criticisms over the limits of the current reform process are increasingly coalescing around demands for a new Tanzanian constitution, with the current framework – and the ruling CCM party – in place since independence despite the shift to multipartyism in 1992. On this episode of Africa Aware, the Rt Hon Freeman Mbowe, leader of Tanzania’s largest opposition party Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA), reflects on his country’s political outlook. Mbowe shares his insights on CHADEMA’s push for a new constitution, the party’s balance of ideology with electability and Tanzania’s position within broader regional blocs in Eastern and Southern Africa.