Tanzanian president poised to retain power as rivals barred from election

Government critics abducted, killed or arrested in run-up to vote as Samia Suluhu Hassan faces first electoral test

Tanzania’s president looks on course to strengthen her grip on the country as it holds a general election on Wednesday against the backdrop of rapidly intensifying repression and the exclusion of opposition candidates.

Samia Suluhu Hassan, a former vice-president who took office after the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli, in 2021, has left nothing to chance for her first presidential and parliamentary electoral test.

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