{"id":124502,"date":"2025-11-11T07:10:06","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T07:10:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/11\/11\/botswanas-ian-khama-calls-samia-suluhu-illegitimate-president-citing-flawed-polls\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T07:10:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T07:10:06","slug":"botswanas-ian-khama-calls-samia-suluhu-illegitimate-president-citing-flawed-polls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/botswanas-ian-khama-calls-samia-suluhu-illegitimate-president-citing-flawed-polls\/","title":{"rendered":"Botswana\u2019s Ian Khama calls Samia Suluhu \u2018illegitimate President\u2019 citing flawed polls"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 11 \u2014 Former Botswana President Ian Khama has branded Tanzania\u2019s President Samia Suluhu an \u201cillegitimate leader\u201d, citing widespread irregularities, violence, and suppression of dissent during the country\u2019s disputed October 29 General Election.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The African Union (AU) and regional blocs have condemned the General Election as falling short of democratic standards.<\/p>\n

Khama, speaking at a governance forum in Lukenya, Machakos, accused Suluhu\u2019s administration of presiding over a flawed and bloody election that betrayed the continent\u2019s democratic aspirations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI for one do not recognize the person who was inaugurated as the president of Tanzania. She is an illegitimate president,\u201d Khama declared. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Africa we dream of \u2014 peaceful, prosperous and respected \u2014 will only emerge when our governance is guided by our values and not by our interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

The outspoken former president accused some African leaders of manipulating elections and using state violence to retain power.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is totally unacceptable when an African leader, in order to stay in power, will resort to killing his or her own people,\u201d Khama said. \u201cFor any leader to think they are the only one who can be president is pathetic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khama\u2019s remarks came just days after the AU Election Observation Mission, led by another former Botswana president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, released a damning preliminary report declaring that Tanzania\u2019s 2025 election \u201cfailed to comply with AU principles and international standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ruto casts doubt on Suluhu\u2019s \u2018unthinkable\u2019 98pc win: \u2018Museveni didn\u2019t get it\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Flawed vote<\/h3>\n

The AU mission cited legal, institutional, and procedural weaknesses that \u201cundermined the integrity of the process,\u201d highlighting opposition arrests, disqualified candidates, ballot stuffing, restricted media coverage, and a six-day nationwide internet blackout.<\/p>\n

The mission further condemned the \u201cexcessive use of force\u201d by police and military units against protesters, which reportedly led to several deaths, and called for sweeping constitutional and political reforms to restore public trust.<\/p>\n

AU declares Tanzania\u2019s polls flawed<\/a><\/p>\n

Similarly, observer teams from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Commonwealth described the polls as deeply flawed, pointing to the detention of opposition leaders, suppression of the press, and misuse of state resources.<\/p>\n

SADC Chief Observer Richard Msowoya said constitutional clauses barring judicial review of presidential results posed a \u201cserious obstacle to accountability.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

President Suluhu, who was declared the winner with 98 percent of the vote, dismissed the criticism as \u201cexternal interference,\u201d maintaining that the polls were \u201cpeaceful, fair, and efficient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking during her closed-door inauguration at a military base in Dodoma, she praised the National Electoral Commission (NEC) for its \u201cunquestionable efficiency,\u201d insisting Tanzania would not be lectured by outsiders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen [observers] praise us, we receive that praise humbly. But when they give us instructions on what to do \u2014 we reject those instructions,\u201d Suluhu said, invoking the words of former President Benjamin Mkapa.<\/p>\n

With both the AU and SADC urging urgent reforms and opposition figures still detained, Khama\u2019s remarks have amplified pressure on President Suluhu\u2019s administration to confront allegations of authoritarianism and electoral manipulation.<\/p>\n

Khama, who has become one of Africa\u2019s most vocal advocates for democratic governance, said the continent\u2019s future depends on leaders who respect constitutionalism, tolerate dissent, and submit to the will of the people.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 11 \u2014 Former Botswana President Ian Khama has branded Tanzania\u2019s President Samia Suluhu an \u201cillegitimate leader\u201d, citing widespread irregularities, violence, and suppression of dissent during the country\u2019s disputed October 29 General Election. The African Union (AU) and regional blocs have condemned the General Election as falling short of democratic standards. Khama, speaking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124502\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}