Tanzania’s Independent National Electoral Commission disqualified opposition presidential candidate Luhaga Mpina for the second time on Monday, reversing an order from two days earlier that had reinstated his nomination.
Mpina, leader of ACT-Wazalendo, Tanzania’s second-largest opposition party, had his nomination papers accepted by INEC following a high-court ruling. That court decision had overturned an earlier disqualification. But the electoral commission, citing procedural irregularities, reimposed the ban.
With Mpina out, President Samia Suluhu Hassan faces a much clearer path toward re-election in the October 29 poll, as major opposition contenders have either been banned or incapacitated. The leading opposition party CHADEMA was disqualified in April for failing to sign the mandatory electoral code of conduct. Its leader, Tundu Lissu, remains detained and is facing treason charges while in custody, charges he denies.
ACT-Wazalendo has condemned the disqualification as “baseless” and politically motivated. Justifications offered by INEC point to technical non-compliance in Mpina’s nomination process as the reason for rejection.
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