Dar es Salaam. The government’s Chief Spokesperson, Gerson Msigwa, has said that Tanzanians have a “thousand reasons” to vote for President Samia Suluhu Hassan in the general elections later this year, defending her record of improving pluralistic politics, the national economy, and people’s welfare.
Mr Msigwa, who doubles as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, defended the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi’s (CCM) presidential nominee in the upcoming election during a wide-ranging interview with The Chanzo to talk about trust in the government as well as clarifying on some topical national issues.
Msigwa, a former journalist, said that President Samia laid out her political philosophy as well as her vision for Tanzania in the much-vaunted 4Rs, namely reconciliation, resilience, reforms, and rebuilding, areas which the Director General of Tanzania Information Services (MAELEZO) thinks the Head of State has “excelled beyond expectations.”
“President Samia has served as a unifying force,” Msigwa said during the interview. “Her commitment to building a truly pluralistic and democratic nation, as demonstrated in her efforts to reconcile key actors of Tanzania’s political and democratic space, has boosted people’s participation in their country’s affairs and boosted the international community’s confidence in our country.”
President Samia, who became the first woman president on March 19, 2021, after succeeding John Magufuli, was nominated by CCM’s extraordinary national congress on January 20, 2025, to be the party’s presidential candidate in the upcoming general elections. It will be her first time to stand as a presidential candidate in an election.
Many accomplishments
Msigwa said that President Samia accomplished so much during her tenure that he thinks she’ll have no hard time securing a second term. He cited the completion of strategic projects like the Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway and the Julius Nyerere Hydroelectric Power Project as milestones likely to convince voters to grant Samia another five-year mandate to lead Tanzania and its people.
“She excellently implemented the 2020 CCM Election Manifesto, which carried the hopes of millions of Tanzania – socially, economically, and politically,” he explained. “She implemented it with distinction. [The Manifesto] was [CCM’s] promise [to electorates], and it was President Samia’s duty to fulfil this promise. Voters will judge her based on how she performed on that score, which, in my opinion, is a spectacular performance.”
Asked if he shares the analysis of some observers who have warned that the way the Samia Administration has handled reports of alleged enforced disappearances could cost Samia’s electability in the upcoming elections, Msigwa said no, arguing that the incidents are going to have no impact whatsoever as the Head of State has been very clear that neither she personally nor her government condones the “criminal acts.”
“President Samia has been very clear concerning these reports [of people who disappear mysteriously],” Mr Msigwa said. “She has ordered relevant authorities to investigate these cases thoroughly and furnish her with findings. I know this exercise [of investigating] is currently ongoing, and the public will be updated in due time.”
He said investigations take time due to the nature of the cases, and this should not be interpreted as the government has ignored the matter or is insensitive to people’s feelings about the issue.
During the interview, Mr Msigwa responded to the No Reform, No Election slogan by the opposition CHADEMA, founded on the belief that existing legal and regulatory framework doesn’t guarantee free and fair elections, saying that election is a national issue, with the people having the sole mandate of cancelling or postponing it because it’s their exercise and never political parties.
“If anyone has any issue with how the election is going to be held, they can try to resolve the issue through existing legal procedures,” Mr Msigwa said. “No political party can prevent an election from happening, and it is futile even to try to do so. If CHADEMA or anyone has concerns, they can use the available time, using accepted procedures, to remedy it before it is too late.”
