Dar es Salaam. The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties in Tanzania on Tuesday nullified the nomination of Luhaga Mpina as a presidential candidate through the ACT Wazalendo ticket for the 2025 General Election after identifying a violation of the party’s procedures in the process.

The Registrar of Political Parties’ action comes following complaints presented to the office by a member of ACT Wazalendo, Monalisa Ndala, who submitted them on August 22, 2025, complaining about the violation of the party’s rules in the process of nominating Mpina.

Mpina, a long-time member of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the outgoing Member of Parliament for Kisesa, joined the opposition ACT Wazalendo party on August 5, 2025. He was then nominated as its presidential candidate for the October 29, 2025, General Election at the party’s General Convention on August 7, 2025.

The politician joined ACT Wazalendo shortly after CCM’s sessions omitted his name from the internal process to select the party’s parliamentary candidate for the Kisesa constituency in the 2025 General Election—a situation many attributed to his public criticism of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s government.

However, shortly after the convention endorsed Mpina, long-time party member Ndala wrote to Secretary-General Ado Shaibu on August 16, 2025. In her letter, she raised concerns that the nomination process violated party procedures and urged the leadership to take appropriate action.

READ MORE: ACT Wazalendo Endorses Luhaga Mpina as Presidential Candidate for 2025 Election 

On August 19, 2025, Ndala—the publicity secretary of ACT Wazalendo for the Dar es Salaam region—formally wrote to the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties. She copied the National Independent Electoral Commission and urged the regulatory body to intervene and ensure compliance with rules and procedures.

Among other grounds, Ndala argued that Mpina’s nomination violated the ACT-Wazalendo 2024 Election Rules, which stipulate that a presidential candidate must have been a party member for at least seven days before the nomination process begins—a requirement Mpina failed to meet.

“I expect the Registrar of Political Parties to treat my request with the urgency it merits to safeguard the party’s integrity and ensure we field a candidate who is legitimate under our rules,” Ndala said in her August 19 statement.

On August 23, 2025, the Office of the Registrar summoned Ndala and ACT Wazalendo, represented by Secretary-General Ado Shaibu and the party Attorney General Omar Said Shaaban, to discuss the matter before issuing its ruling following Ndala’s petition.

“The nomination of Luhaga Joelson Mpina as presidential candidate for the United Republic of Tanzania followed all the required procedures of our party’s candidate selection process,” stated Shaibu outside the Registrar’s Office following the meeting.

READ MORE: CCM Dissident Luhaga Mpina Joins ACT-Wazalendo After Exclusion in Party Primaries 

However, in a letter dated August 26, 2025, the Office of the Registrar informed Ndala that it agreed with her arguments and had nullified Mpina’s nomination after identifying violations of the party’s procedures.

The Registrar ruled that the ACT-Wazalendo 2024 Election Rules extend to the nomination of candidates for government positions, including the presidency. This ruling established that Mpina did not meet the mandatory qualification of party membership for at least seven days before the nomination process commenced.

The Office further determined that Mr. Mpina had missed the May 25, 2025, deadline for nomination applications, as he was not yet a party member by that date, thereby violating the procedural timeline in the party’s rules.

“I accept this decision with great respect, viewing it as a victory for the Constitution and the rule of law in safeguarding our democracy,” Ndala said in a statement celebrating the decision. “It firmly confirms that no person or institution is above the law.”

In response to the decision, ACT Wazalendo stated its disagreement, arguing that the Registrar lacks the authority to interfere in its internal processes outside of formal objection procedures.

“ACT Wazalendo will file a case in the High Court to challenge this decision by the Registrar of Political Parties,” read the party’s statement signed by Mr Shaibu. “In this case, the Party will seek an injunction to suspend the implementation of this decision until the matter is fully resolved.”