Tundu Lissu has been elected chairman of Tanzania’s main opposition party, Chadema, ousting Freeman Mbowe, who had led the party for over twenty years. Lissu won a tightly contested election with 51.5% of the vote, campaigning on promises of change and stronger opposition to the ruling CCM party. Mbowe emphasised his record of strengthening the party and accepted the results graciously. Lissu, a vocal critic of the government, survived a 2017 assassination attempt and lost the presidential election in 2020 to John Magufuli. He has accused Magufuli’s successor, Samia Suluhu Hassan, of repression, and strongly spoken out against human rights violations and recent abductions and disappearances of citizens, including opposition officials. He and other colleagues have been arrested in recent months amid a government crackdown on opposition demonstrations. His leadership signals a shift towards a bolder opposition stance ahead of the October presidential elections.