Tanzania stands at a crossroads. As we approach the 2025 General Elections, opposition party ACT Wazalendo has chosen to dive into the fray, not with blind faith, but with the fierce resolve to reclaim our democracy.
This decision announced by our leaders Dorothy Semu and Othman Masoud, is no surrender—it’s a calculated strike, rooted in lessons from history and the unyielding spirit of our people.
To boycott these elections would be to hand victory to those who thrive on our silence. Instead, we fight, inspired by warriors of change who turned rigged elections into battlegrounds for justice. And that we will surely do!
Consider Serbia’s Otpor! movement, vividly captured by William J. Dobson in his seminal book The Dictator’s Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy. In 2000, facing Slobodan Milošević’s iron grip—marked by ballot stuffing and voter intimidation, as what the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) does here in Tanzania currently—Otpor! refused to boycott a flawed election.
They saw it as a stage to expose the regime’s cracks. With slogans like “Gotov Je!” (“He’s Finished!”) and daring protests, they ignited a fire in the Serbian people. When Milošević tried to steal the vote, Otpor!’s groundwork fueled a massive uprising on October 5, 2000, toppling him.
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A boycott would have left them voiceless; participation made them unstoppable. Yes, we are not Serbians as we are Tanzanians. We are not Europeans as we are Africans. But Serbians are people, as we are The People too.
Closer to home, the 2016 Zanzibar election offers a stark warning. The Civic United Front (CUF) boycotted, as a matter of principle, after a disputed 2015 poll, aiming rightly to delegitimise CCM. Instead, their absence handed CCM an unchallenged win, weakening CUF’s influence and leaving supporters disillusioned. The boycott didn’t dismantle the system—it entrenched it.
ACT Wazalendo learns from this: stepping back only clears the path for those who rig the game. We don’t regret what we did in 2016 as it was the right thing to do, but we learnt a lesson. Surely the universe conspired as ACT Wazalendo is in form and content, CUF+.
Look, too, at Uganda’s Bobi Wine. Despite President Yoweri Museveni’s brutality—seen in violent crackdowns during recent by-elections—Bobi persists. Arrested, beaten, and cheated, he runs in every race, turning each vote into a referendum on tyranny. His courage keeps hope alive, proving that staying in the fight, no matter the odds, builds momentum that despots dread. ACT Wazalendo takes this to heart.
CCM’s tactics—fraud, violence, intimidation—are real, but withdrawing won’t end them. It’s through the ballot that we expose their shame.
Participation is our weapon. The 2025 elections, however imperfect, are a platform to rally Tanzanians, just as Otpor! did in Serbia quarter a century ago. We’ll campaign with fire—door to door, village to village—demanding an independent electoral commission, neutral security forces, and a vote that counts.
Like Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad, Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine, Kizza Besigye, Ousman Sonko and many other African reformists we’ll face CCM’s tricks head-on, knowing each step forward cracks their armor.
Our demands for reform aren’t wishes; they’re non-negotiable, backed by legal challenges and public pressure, as we’ve shown by signing the Electoral Code of Conduct, eyes open to its flaws.
To my fellow Tanzanians: this is our moment. A boycott buries our dreams; participation unearths them. Let’s seize 2025 to show CCM that the people’s will is unbreakable. We dedicate this election to The People Themselves!
Together, we’ll build a Tanzania where every vote sparks change—a nation of justice, opportunity, and pride. The fight is tough, but so are we.
Zitto Kabwe is the former leader of the opposition ACT-Wazalendo party. He is available at zittokabwe@gmail.com and on X as @zittokabwe. These are the writer’s own opinions and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of The Chanzo. Do you want to publish in this space? Contact our editors at editor@thechanzo.com for further inquiries.
