Tanzania and the African Union’s Blind Spots on Democratic Backsliding - Why the African Union’s Unidirectional Approach to Unconstitutional Changes of Government Needs Reform

Tanzania and the African Union’s Blind Spots on Democratic Backsliding - Why the African Union’s Unidirectional Approach to Unconstitutional Changes of Government Needs Reform Murimi, Edward Kahuthia Author aut Text xx# 2025 Verfassungsblog 2025-11-28 eng Tanzania’s 2025 elections, declared won by President Samia Suluhu with 97.66% of the vote, were condemned by observers as failing to meet basic democratic standards. Yet the African Union Commission initially issued a congratulatory statement, raising questions about the AU’s approach to unconstitutional changes of government. These events expose a deeper problem: The AU’s norms against unconstitutional changes of government l must encompass undemocratic elections orchestrated by incumbents. CC BY-SA 4.0 Murimi, Edward Kahuthia African Union Coup d'Etat elections military coup 342 https://verfassungsblog.de/african-union-unconstitutional-changes-of-government/ Verfassungsblog 2366-7044 Max Steinbeis Verfassungsblog gGmbH 10.59704/2e70bc3eef09e2c5 251128 10.59704/2e70bc3eef09e2c5 Converted from MARCXML to MODS version 3.7 using MARC21slim2MODS3-7.xsl (Revision 1.140 20200717)