Dar es Salaam. The opposition party CHADEMA has revealed that part of its strategy to block Tanzania’s October general elections—without key electoral reforms—includes collecting signatures for a petition that the party intends to present to all international organizations.
The party’s deputy national chairperson (Tanzania Mainland), John Heche, shared the information during an address ahead of Thursday’s meeting between CHADEMA’s national leadership and its parliamentary hopefuls, who had gathered in the city to be “properly briefed” on the party’s ‘No Reforms, No Election’ agenda.
“If we want to run for parliament, each of us must carry this petition to the electorate and help the party secure the over 15 million signatures needed to affirm its stance that current circumstances do not guarantee free and fair elections—and that we refuse to allow vote-rigging,” said Heche, a CHADEMA stalwart.
Mr Heche revealed that the party has already begun collecting signatures from Tanzanians, including during recent political rallies in the country’s southern highland regions. He emphasized that individuals should sign for themselves and that no one should sign on another’s behalf.
“Everywhere we went, people signed for themselves,” Heche, a fierce critic of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and its government, told his fellow 2025 parliamentary hopefuls from across the country.
The firebrand opposition leader went further, suggesting CHADEMA might boycott the elections entirely if necessary – a move that would strip the process of what he called the “desperately needed legitimacy” sought by CCM and its government.
Mr Heche’s clarification comes as questions swirl about how CHADEMA – Tanzania’s leading opposition party – plans to block the scheduled 2025 elections without the key electoral reforms it advocates under its ‘No Reforms, No Election’ banner.
These doubts have fueled divisions within both the party’s leadership and its rank-and-file members, resulting in public accusations and the dismissal of a senior official who dissented from CHADEMA’s stance.
On Thursday, the party removed Julius Mwita, secretary of CHADEMA’s central committee secretariat, from his leadership positions after discovering he and other party leaders were orchestrating plans to challenge the party’s official stance – a move some denounced as “unconstitutional” and “an act of betrayal.”
READ MORE: Restore the Value of Our Vote – A Call for Electoral Reforms in Tanzania
Mwita belongs to a WhatsApp group called ‘G-55,’ whose messages were leaked on social media Wednesday. The exchanges revealed him and his colleagues – all parliamentary hopefuls – debating whether to attend Thursday’s meeting and discussing alternative ways to voice their opposition to the party’s official stance.
Mwita and his colleagues argue that CHADEMA cannot prevent the elections from taking place. They warn that the party’s focus on this “unrealistic goal” diverts energy from essential preparations needed to compete effectively in the upcoming polls.
However, in his Thursday address delivered just before the closed-door meeting with the party’s parliamentary hopefuls, Mr Heche dismissed these concerns as “foolish,” asserting there could be no meaningful CHADEMA participation in elections under what he described as an electoral system “rigged in favour of the ruling CCM.”
He cited the 2019, 2020, and 2024 elections – marred by widespread irregularities including arbitrary disqualification of opposition candidates and police interference – as evidence of what he called “CCM’s fundamental aversion to genuine electoral competition.”
“We stand prepared to guide this party in establishing a genuinely independent electoral commission – the only condition that would persuade us to contest these elections,” Mr Heche declared. “Without this fundamental reform, no compromise with this government will be possible.”
READ MORE: CHADEMA Presents Its ‘No Reform, No Election’ Agenda to Party Registrar
In her Eid message on Monday, President Samia Suluhu Hassan assured the nation’s religious leaders that she would address their concerns to prevent a recurrence of the irregularities witnessed during the 2024 local government elections. She pledged to ensure the upcoming general elections would be conducted freely and fairly.
However, the Head of State made clear that her administration would not tolerate any attempts to disrupt the electoral process. She emphasized her commitment to maintaining peace and stability throughout, ensuring Tanzanians can freely exercise their democratic rights.
