Tanzania Has a Lot to Lose If It Doesn't Improve Relations With Its Neighbours

analysis By Sekou Otondi, University of Nairobi

As the dust settles after Tanzania's hotly contested elections - at least on the mainland, if not Zanzibar - the new leadership of East Africa's largest and most populous state has stark choices to make at home and in the region.

In Tanzania's closest presidential race ever, the governing Chama Cha Mapinduzi's (CCM) presidential candidate, John Pombe Magufuli, won more than 58% of national votes cast. His closest rival, Edward Lowassa, garnered 40% of national votes under the opposition UKAWA coalition.

Magufuli's win has not led to a transfer of power. His party is bound to govern for the next five years. But a change of guard within CCM's top leadership should provide an opportunity to reassess Tanzania's role within the East Africa Community (EAC) - in particular, how regional integration can be deepened and widened.

Possible routes to follow

The three likely scenarios open to Magufuli's government as it re-evaluates its engagements in the community are:

to maintain the lukewarm approach, at times bordering on isolationism, as perfected by his predecessor Jakaya Kikwete;

to formulate a new policy for Tanzania's involvement with other EAC member states; and

at the worst, to pull the country out of the EAC.

These policy choices should be understood within the context of the previous regime's indecisive approach to matters East African. During Kikwete's tenure, Tanzania consistently had troubled relations with other members of the regional bloc