Much has been made of Samia’s lack of her own political constituency—an evaluation which Lissu did not refute.
“She is weak in that she does not have a political power base. She is a Zanzibari at a time when the Union is under pressure. For a Zanzibari president to preside over non-Union matters will raise many of the same questions that were asked at the end of Mwinyi’s presidency,” Lissu said, referring to Ali Hassan Mwinyi, who became Tanzania’s second president (1985-1995) after serving nearly two years as president of Zanzibar and was accused of favoring Muslim and Zanzibari interests while in office.