The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights is set to deliver on Friday its long-awaited judgment on the legitimacy of Tanzania’s 2020 elections.
The African court is a continental judicial body established by African states to promote and protect human rights across the continent.
Created under the auspices of the African Union (AU), the court derives its mandate from the collective commitment of its member states.
The case, No. 046/2020, was filed on November 20, 2020, by six applicants, including opposition leaders and registered voters, who accuse the government of breaching fundamental civil and political rights during the electoral process.
Former Vice-President of Zanzibar and founder of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF), Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad, began the case in November 2020 to challenge gross and massive violations of election laws by the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) Party in the 2020 presidential elections.
Following his death in February 2021, the court substituted him with Ado Shaibu, Secretary-General of the ACT Wazalendo party.
The African court will begin reading decisions at 10:00 am EAT. The reading of the decisions will be streamed live in English with simultaneous Swahili and French translations.
The Shaibu case was filed at the African court on November 20, 2020 and six months later the government of Tanzania filed a response which was a complete denial, providing no evidence.
On June 20, 2025, the court stated that it would issue its judgment on June 26, 2025. Five days later, after becoming aware of the notice of judgment, the then authorities in Dar es Salaam requested the court to reopen the pleadings and grant it an extension of time to respond.
Six months later, following the October 2025 elections, an electoral process that again gave rise to reports of violence attributed to state agents and allegations of serious departures from the very African electoral standards at issue in this case concerning the 2020 elections, the African court is now poised to deliver its judgment.
MG/as/APA