A coronation not a contest - Tanzania's first female president faces little opposition
6 hours ago Share Save Alfred Lasteck BBC Africa, Dar es Salaam Share Save
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With no heavyweight opposition candidates cleared to compete in Wednesday's election, many Tanzanians feel the vote is less like a contest and more like a coronation for President Samia Suluhu Hassan, as she faces her first presidential election. The 65-year-old became the East African nation's first female head of state after the death in 2021 of sitting President John Magufuli. He was admired on the one hand for his no-nonsense drive to stamp out corruption but criticised on the other for his authoritarian clampdown on dissent and controversial attitude towards the Covid pandemic. President Samia, who had been vice-president, seemed like a breath of fresh air - and with her warmer and friendlier style, she initiated reforms that seemed to represent a radical departure from her predecessor's policies. Her four Rs policy - "reconciliation, resilience, reform and rebuilding" - reopened Tanzania to foreign investors, restored donor relations and mollified the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
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