Tanzania: after Magufuli's death, can we expect a relaxation of the regime?
Vice President Samia Hassan and Tanzanian President John Magufuli on July 24, 2019 in Dar es Salaam.
AFP - ERICKY BONIPHACE
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6 mins
Tanzania will soon have a president.
After the announcement of the death of President John Magufuli at the age of 61, officially due to heart problems, Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan, must take the reins of the country and ensure the interim.
John Magufuli, elected for the first time in 2015, then re-elected at the end of 2020 in a disputed ballot, is known for his policy of major works, but also accused of authoritarian drift.
Can this change at the head of the country reverse the trend?
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The Tanzanian opposition is already calling for change.
Tundu Lissu, the vice-president of the main opposition party Chadema, said Thursday on Kenyan television that the vice-president is heading towards a dead end, if she takes the same path as
John Magufuli
, while stressing that Samia Suluhu Hassan no does not have the same temperament as him.
Researcher Fergus Kell, analyst at the Chatham House think tank, also notes that the future president of the country has a different personality from that of her predecessor.
He judges his approach "
less confrontational
" and "
more open to the outside
".
She also "
expressed her disagreement with some of her controversial statements
," points out Fergus Kell.
But he believes, however, that a change of person will not be "
necessarily enough to reverse the trend
."
Especially since many prominent public figures were in tune with President Magufuli.
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To read:
Death of President Magufuli in Tanzania: "He will leave a bad memory"
“
I think it's important to remember that this is also an institutional challenge for Tanzania,”
says researcher Fergus Kell.
Many prominent public figures, such as the Speaker of Parliament or the Minister of Foreign Affairs, were very much in tune with the President.
So, it is not certain that the new head of state can assert her authority on this point and drive a significant change in the more authoritarian trajectory that Tanzania has taken.
"
In addition, Samia Suluhu Hassan, who does not seem to enjoy great popularity among the relatives of the late president, will have to appoint a vice-president, after consultation with his party, and his choice will have to be validated by the National Assembly.
For Tanzanian analyst Thabit Jacob, the current vice president will have to rule with a weaker base, which will be controlled by the Magufuli clan and intelligence and will struggle to build her own base.
Samia Hassan is from the Zanzibar archipelago.
Of Muslim faith, she comes from a modest family.
After a flawless university career, she joined several positions in the administration of the Zanzibar government.
Then Samia Hassan turned to the humanitarian community: she headed the WFP office in Zanzibar for nine years.
Her political career began in 2000: she was appointed member of the Zanzibar Parliament by the Tanzanian presidential party.
Between 2000 and 2010, she assumed several ministerial portfolios.
Discreet and calm, as vice-president, she had until then taken on a role in the shadows, with an achievement to her credit: the ban on plastic bags.
According to the Constitution, Samia Hassan should complete the term of the late president and assume the functions of Head of State for five years, i.e. until 2025.
That was a good President Magufuli.
He did everything, roads, electricity, access to water, everything!
He did a lot of good things during his tenure.
There will be no other presidents like Magufuli!
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