from ALLOYCE KIMBUNGA in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
Tanzania Bureau
DAR-ES-SALAAM, (CAJ News) – THE African Union Commission (AU) has come under criticism for congratulating incumbents in the just-concluded series of elections.
Most of the criticism is around the announcement of Samia Suluhu Hassan as winner of the controversial elections in Tanzania.
In a related development, the Tanzania elections have elicited contrasting reactions from the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) where ruling parties, mostly former liberation movements, are accused of siding with each other and entrenching dictatorship in the region.
Amid bloodshed in her country, Hassan was this past weekend announced the winner of last Wednesday’s poll, with around 80- recent of the ballot.
Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), congratulated Hassan for “her victory.”
The so-called victory was attained largely because her main rivals had either been imprisoned or/and banned from contesting.
Nonetheless, Youssouf expressed regret at the loss of human life during the post-electoral protests and extended his condolences to the families of the victims.
He also called on citizens to exercise their rights in a peaceful and responsible manner.
“The AU reaffirms its readiness to support the people and Government of Tanzania in their efforts to preserve peace, national cohesion and democracy,” Youssouf assured.
While AU has offered similar congratulations to Paul Biya (Cameroon) and Alassane Ouattara (Ivory Coast) most of the rage has been around the re-election of Hassan, where in Tanzania the outcome has resulted in unconfirmed deaths of hundreds of people.
Sitati Wasilwa, a political risk analyst, criticized the AU stance.
“The AU is useless and should be disbanded,” he said.
“It’s a reflection and extension of anarchy, authoritarianism and parochialism which are passionately practised by the majority of African governments.”
Oketch Oduor, an analyst, concurred.
“It is utterly cold and callous for the holder of the AUC chair to send congratulatory messages at the height of post-election violence. To save face, he expresses a cosmetic concern about the violence, assigning it a footnote label,” he said.
In Kenya, Albart Nsengu, believes the AU stance on the poll outcome would have been different if his countryman, Raila Odinga, had won the polls for the chairmanship position occupied by Youssouf.
Odinga, coincidentally, died on October 15.
He was outspoken against election rigging in Kenya and the continent.
“A credible counterfactual is that, had Raila held the AU chair, he would be alive and pressing President Suluhu to engage the youth and consider an inclusive power-sharing framework. The present course offers none of this,” Nsengu said.
For a change, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) did not celebrate a “victory” for an incumbent in the region.
It usually is the first to send congratulatory messages.
Instead, SADC said it was “closely monitoring” developments.
Peter Mutharika, chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, also dissuaded security forces from excessive force while maintaining law and order.
In Zimbabwe, the mood was celebratory within the ruling party-aligned ZANU-PF Patriots.
ZANU-PF is the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, an ally of Tanzania’s ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).
“As ZANU-PF Patriots, we celebrate this democratic triumph and reaffirm our unshakable bond with our Tanzanian brothers and sisters in advancing the cause of African unity, sovereignty and economic empowerment,” it stated.
It added, “Protests will eventually end and Cde Samia Suluhu Hassan will lead Tanzania to prosperity. The minority who voted for opposition or did not vote should accept defeat. The opposition has no people.”
ZANU-PF is accused of vote rigging and violence as well as suppression of dissent to retain power.
South Africa’s majority party, the African National Congress (ANC), issued a mystifying statement post the elections in Tanzania.
It said a delegation of the party undertook a visit to Tanzania at the invitation of its “sister party” CCM but “for reasons currently unknown a breakdown in communication occurred.”
“As a result, the delegation was unable to observe any aspect of the elections,” ANC stated.
In Zambia, the Tanzania polls have sparked interest, with polls in the former scheduled for 2026.
Leslie Mbula, former Secretary to the Cabinet, has been quoted as saying Zambia risks instability similar to recent unrest in Tanzania.
The ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) of President Hakainde Hichelema, criticized him over these sentiments.
Mark Simuuwe, UPND spokesperson, said the party’s New Dawn government had demonstrated openness in engaging stakeholders on governance matters, including constitutional reform, decentralisation and social policy.
“Constructive criticism is welcome, but it must be grounded in truth and national interest, not personal frustration or double standards,” Simuuwe said.
– CAJ News