ACT Wazalendo’s Joelson Luhaga Mpina has secured a round one victory in his quest to be the next president of Tanzania. This is after the Independent Electoral Commission’s move to bar him from vying for president was overturned by the High Court.
The Commission had blocked Mpina from returning his forms for applying for a nomination certificate to contest for the top seat. Mpina immediately filed a case against the Attorney General and the Independent Electoral Commission, in which the court determined that Mpina’s right to vie for president was fundamentally violated.
In his ruling, Judge Abdi Kagomaba ordered the INEC to immediately allow Mpina to return his form and continue with the process of nominating him as a presidential candidate. INEC had ended the process on 27th August 2025 after the office of the Registrar of political parties wrote to the commission claiming Mpina had not met all the thresholds required of becoming ACT Wazalendo Candidate following a complaint by a former member of the party.
The court, sitting in Dodoma, also ordered the three parties to bear their own cost.
More to follow
