Due to the lifting of the ban on opposition parties since 2016, dozens of supporters of Tanzania’s main opposition party, Chadema, celebrated their first meetings on Saturday in the northern city of Mwanza.
According to the party’s leaders, further rallies will be planned to consult the party’s base and reach out to neighbourhoods and villages across the country. Thus, it is an opportunity to explore the terrain in preparation for the 2025 elections.
The lifting of the ban was announced this month by the chairperson Samia Suluhu Hassan. In this regard, party president Freeman Mbowe, who was arrested in 2021, welcomed the removal of the ban.
Furthermore, Freeman Mbowe recalled that the party’s priority is the electoral body and a new constitution, which he considers an inevitable need of the country, insisting on the importance of an independent electoral commission to achieve this goal.