African Studies
Utafiti: Journal of African Perspectives
Call for Papers: Utafiti is inviting you to submit your manuscript – any topic in the humanities - for consideration in the next issues.
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The political scene was entirely focused on presidential and parliamentary elections in October. In a tight electoral contest with a strengthened opposition coalition, the long-ruling ccm party was able to defend a more than two-thirds majority in parliament and to see John Pombe Magufuli elected as the new president upon the expiry of President Kikwete’s two-term mandate. The opposition proved unable to unseat the deeply-entrenched ccm system. Separate elections in semi-autonomous Zanzibar were declared void in dubious circumstances, with no crisis solution in sight before the year’s end. A promised referendum on a new constitution was not held. Magufuli introduced an unforeseen new leadership style, stressing discipline, rigorous cost-saving measures and serious ant-corruption efforts in state institutions. This earned him popularity among the general public, but also raised questions about an emerging authoritarian streak. Relations with Western aid donors were slightly strained over dissatisfaction with a lack of reform measures and the Zanzibar election issue. Macroeconomic performance and growth continued to be strong, but managing the budget proved to be difficult.