Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania over the weekend.

INEC Tanzania Responds to Concerns Over Voter Register Numbers

Tanzania’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Director of Elections, Ramadhani Kailima, has stated that there has been no increase in the number of voters in the permanent voter register compared to the population projections based on the census, contrary to claims made by some individuals.

Speaking during a meeting between INEC and online content creators regarding the 2025 general elections held in Dar es Salaam on August 3, 2025, Kailima explained that Section 9(2) of the Presidential, Parliamentary and Councilor Elections Act gives the Commission the responsibility to register voters who have reached the age of 18 or will reach that age by the time of the election.

He mentioned that there have been reports circulating online claiming that the Commission has registered about seven million new voters, with these misleading reports suggesting that this number exceeds the estimated five million individuals who were projected by the census to be eligible to vote in 2025.

“The Commission’s data shows that around 3,113,931 individuals were eligible to be registered in 2015 and 2020 but were not, but they say they were registered. These individuals have now been registered. So, if you subtract this number from the roughly seven million new registrants, you’re left with just over four million truly new voters who have turned 18 or older. Therefore, we have not even reached the projected census numbers in that regard,” said Kailima.

The Commission announced that a total of 37,655,559 voters have registered in the permanent voter register for the 2025 elections, following a two-phase update exercise conducted from July 20, 2024, to March 25, 2025, and from May 1, 2025, to July 4, 2025.

According to the Commission, this number represents a 26.55 percent increase from about  29.7 million voters who were in the permanent register in the 2020 general election.

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CCM Special Seat Hopefuls Await Final Nod from Top Party Organs as Constituency Contests Begin Today

Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) has continued its internal nomination process for special parliamentary and representative seats ahead of the October 2025 General Election. Between August 1st and 3rd, the party’s affiliated wings held national meetings in Dodoma to conduct primaries and select candidates for special seats in the National Assembly and the Zanzibar House of Representatives.

The internal elections were conducted by the CCM Youth Wing (UVCCM), the Parents’ Wing, and the Women’s Wing (UWT), producing 21 preliminary nominees for parliamentary seats and 8 for the Zanzibar House of Representatives. However, party leaders have emphasized that these outcomes are subject to confirmation by CCM’s higher organs.

The primaries brought surprises, with two sitting MPs failing to retain their nominations. Neema Lugangira, who represented the civil society (NGO) group, and Khadija Taya, popularly known as Keisha, representing people with disabilities, were both defeated.

On the other hand, some incumbents successfully defended their positions, including Ummy Hamisi Nderiananga the currently Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office—who represents people with disabilities, and Najma Murtaza Giga, who serves in the special seats through the Parents’ Wing and is also the Chairperson  of the National Assembly.

In the UVCCM meeting held on August 1 and 2, six candidates were selected to represent Mainland Tanzania in the special seats. Ng’wasi Damas Kamani, the current youth special seat MP, secured the highest votes, followed by Jessica John Magufuli, Halima Abdalah Bulembo, Lulu Guyo Macha, Juliana Didasi Masaburi, and Timida Mpoki Fyamdomo. 

In Zanzibar, four candidates emerged victorious from a pool of 17: Mwanaenzi Hassan Suluhu, Latifa Khamis Juakali, Zainab Abdallah Issa, and Amina Ali Mzee. For the two available special seats in the Zanzibar House of Representatives under the Youth Wing, Salha Muhammed Mwinjuma and Hudhima Mbarak Tahir were selected.

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Tanzania Prisons Denies Human Rights Violation in Lissu Court Incident

The Tanzania Prisons Service has strongly denied allegations of human rights violations made by lawyers representing CHADEMA Chairman Tundu Lissu, following an incident on July 30, 2025, at the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court, where prison officers were seen pushing Lissu as he exited the courtroom.

In a statement, the Prisons Service said that the remandee, Tundu Lissu, was being guided and escorted out of the courtroom back to remand custody after showing signs of defiance.

“The Prisons Service is a security and defense organ whose core responsibility is to ensure the safety and security of all remandees under its care, whether inside or outside the prison premises,” the statement read.

Lissu’s lawyers criticized the officer’s actions and raised concerns about the conduct of the Prisons Service towards their client, including the presence of masked officers who surrounded Lissu in court. In response, the Prisons Service explained that the attire of its officers is determined based on operational needs and security risk assessments concerning inmates, remandees, and officers carrying out their duties.

Tanzanian Tycoon and Former CCM Leader Rebukes Polepole Over Party Criticism

Prominent Tanzanian businessman and former ruling party stalwart Rostam Aziz has lashed out at former ambassador to Cuba, Humphrey Polepole, questioning his legitimacy to criticize the ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), following his resignation earlier this July.

Rostam, who served as a CCM Member of Parliament for 18 years, held the position of CCM National Treasurer, and was a long-serving member of both the National Executive Council (NEC) and Central Committee, dismissed Polepole’s criticisms, stating that he barely knew him until he was appointed CCM’s Ideology and Publicity Secretary after the 2015 general elections.

Speaking to Azam Media on August 3, 2025, Rostam described Polepole as part of an “invasive leadership class” that infiltrated CCM post-2015 and were handed influential positions despite lacking deep knowledge of the party’s history and culture.

“When he talks about the traditions and practices of CCM, I wonder how would someone who was never involved with this party until he was appointed as the publicity secretary even begin to understand our values and traditions?” Rostam posed.

Although Polepole claims to have joined CCM in the early 2000s and worked extensively with civil society organizations across Africa, his rise to prominence came after his appointment to the Constitutional Review Commission known as the Warioba Commission in 2012. He later joined the presidential campaign team in 2015, coordinating CCM’s messaging in support of then-presidential candidate John Magufuli.

Rostam’s remarks come in the wake of increasing criticism from Polepole since his resignation from diplomatic service. Polepole has taken to social media to scrutinize CCM’s internal presidential candidate selection process. He has argued for a leadership renewal within the party every ten years, suggesting CCM should embrace change and allow for fresh faces in its top leadership.

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