Voters in Tanzania are heading to polling booths on Wednesday, October 29, to vote for a new president, as well as members of parliament and councillors.

The elections are expected to continue the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM)'s 64-year-long grip on power.

Despite a bevy of candidates in the lineup, incumbent President Samia Suluhu Hassan, analysts say, is virtually unchallenged and will almost certainly win.

Key challengers Tundu Lissu of the largest opposition party, Chadema, and Luhaga Mpina of ACT-Wazalendo, have been barred from standing, thus eliminating any real threat to Hassan. Other presidential candidates on the ballot lack political backing and are unlikely to make much impact on voters, analysts say.

More than 37 million of the 60 million population are registered to vote. This is Hassan's first bid at the presidency. She automatically became president in March 2021, after the death of John Pombe Magufuli. She is one of only two female presidents in Africa, the other being Namibia’s Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.

Read the full story here