This archive report was first published on 4 August 2020.
On July 27, 2020, Tundu Lissu returned to Tanzania after almost three years in self-exile in Belgium, where he had gone to receive treatment after surviving an assassination attempt on September 7, 2017, in Dodoma.
Just a week after his return, Lissu was nominated as Chadema's presidential candidate for the 2020 polls by the party's general council meeting, which was attended by 453 of its 456 members.
The nomination now awaits approval by the national delegates conference, which is scheduled to take place next week Tuesday.
According to the timetable released by the National Electoral Commission, the names of all presidential candidates and their running mates, parliamentary and councillorship contestants will be presented by August 25 before campaigns kick off on August 26.
Addressing the general council members, Lissu expressed concerns about the electoral hurdles that opposition parties face in the October elections.
“Today, I would like to explain what this year’s general election means to the opposition because the National Electoral Commission is the one responsible for organising the polls,” he said.
He claimed that since 1992, when the multiparty system was reinstated, the NEC has been backing the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) through its structure that consists of returning officers most of whom are the party cadres.
“Therefore, the opposition should expect and get ready for its candidates in the parliamentary and councillorship positions to be dropped against laws, procedures and regulations,” he claimed.
