Political Parties and Democratic Consolidation in

Tanzania

Overcoming Transition Challenges

Josh Maiyo

The Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy

Working Paper

April 2008

2

Contents

List of Abbreviations .............................................................................................................................. 3

1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 4

2. External Environment ................................................................................................................... 6

2.1. Political history ................................................................................................................. 6

2.1.1. Emergence of Single Party Rule........................................................................... 6 2.1.2. Socialism and the One-Party State ....................................................................... 7

2.1.3. The Nyerere Factor .............................................................................................. 8

2.2. State managed transition .................................................................................................... 9 2.2.1. Change under state control .................................................................................. 9

2.2.2. A Flawed Process ................................................................................................10

2.3. Political, legal, and constitutional framework ....................................................................12

3. Mapping Political Parties ........................................................................................................... 14

3.1. Founding principles and ideologies ...................................................................................14

3.2. Internal structure and leadership selection .........................................................................17

3.3. Organisational rules and regulatory framework .................................................................17

3.3.1. Policy Development .............................................................................................19 3.3.2. Membership and recruitment ..............................................................................20 3.3.3. Communication with party members ...................................................................22

3.3.4. Training ..............................................................................................................22

3.3.5. Membership recruitment between elections .........................................................23

3.4. Electoral activity...............................................................................................................23 3.4.1. Nomination of candidates for elections ...............................................................23

3.4.2. Election Campaigns ............................................................................................26

3.5. External relations ..............................................................................................................27

3.5.1. International alliances ........................................................................................27

3.5.2. National contacts.................................................................................................27 3.5.3. Relations with Civil Society Organisation ...........................................................28 3.5.4. Media outlets .......................................................................................................28

3.6. Party funding ....................................................................................................................29

3.6.1. Campaign Finance ..............................................................................................29 3.6.2. Fundraising strategies .........................................................................................31

4. Conclusions and recommendations ............................................................................................ 31

References ............................................................................................................................................. 33

3

List of Abbreviations

ASP Afro-Shirazi Party

CCM Chama Cha Mapinduzi

CHADEMA Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo

CUF Civic United Front

TLP Tanzania Labour Party

UDP United Democratic Party

NCCR Mageuzi National Convention for Constitutional Reform-Mageuzi

NEC National Executive Committee

NEC National Electoral Commission

NIMD Netherlands-based Institute for Multiparty Democracy

TCD Tanzania Centre for Democracy

REDET Research on Education and Democracy in Tanzania

TANU Tanzania African National Union

4

1. Introduction

The party political system in Tanzania can be described as a one-dominant-party political system

where Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), the ruling party has been in power though under different

names since Tanganyika’s independence in 1961. While opposition parties enjoy a large degree of

freedom compared to other countries in the region, they still remain small, fragmented and ineffectual

in challenging the hegemony of the immensely dominant and popular ruling party (Chege, Nordlund,

& Rukambe, 2007). The opposition can therefore be characterized as having failed to offer credible

alternative policy, programmatic and ideological options to the electorate especially in Tanzania

mainland.

The scenario is markedly different in the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar. Political competition

has been characterised by intense conflict between (supporters of) the ruling party CCM and the

opposition Civic United Front (CUF) with its stronghold in the island of Pemba. Since the re-

introduction of multiparty politics in 1992, every election cycle has been marred by violent conflict as

the government and ruling party employed heavy handed tactics to suppress the opposition (Baregu,

Mushi, & Mukandala, 2001; Maliyamkono & Kanyongolo, 2003).

The enduring strength and dominance of the ruling party can be attributed in part to the country’s

political history and role that its predecessors, the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) and

the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) in Zanzibar played in the independence struggle. The fusion of the two

parties in 1977 following the Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar led to the formation CCM, a

formidable national mass party. The adoption of socialism and the personal influence and charisma of

Tanzania’s founding president Mwalimu Julius Nyerere under the Ujamaa (African Socialism) system

played a significant role in entrenching the party throughout all structures of leadership and

government. The popularity and dominance of CCM thus remained strong even as the country

reverted to a multiparty political system in 1992 (Nyirabu, 2002).

The transition to multiparty democracy in Tanzania was a carefully managed process. The state and

the ruling party choreographed events and constitutional changes taking the initiative away from

opposition groups that clamoured for political change. The Political Parties Act (1992) drafted and

passed by a CCM dominated parliament became the sole legal document guiding the democratisation

process. Similarly, institutions such as the Office of the Registrar of political parties (1992) and the

National Electoral Commission (1993) were set up to facilitate and manage this transition under the

strict control of the government with the president as the chief appointing authority of all senior

officers to these institutions (Kaiser & Okumu, 2004; Nyirabu, 2002).

The party thus retained its legitimacy in the eyes of the public as a benevolent and magnanimous

political institution. While legal and constitutional provisions were made to accommodate pluralist

politics, the same structures that perpetuated and entrenched the single party socialist regime remained

in place. Little was done by way of civic education to inform the public of their rights, roles and

responsibilities in the new democratic dispensation (S. S. Mushi, Rubagumya, & Mukandala, 2004;

Temwende, 2004). This has led oppositionists to cry foul that the ruling party continues to benefit

from unfair and uneven structures that skew the political playing field in favour of the incumbent.

Still, no less than 19 political parties have been registered in the country since the reintroduction of

multipartysm in 1992.1

This research seeks to establish the linkages between the political party system in Tanzania and the

performance of political parties as agents of democratisation. Specific attention is paid to how these

factors influence processes of internal democracy within selected political parties in the country. First,

it examines the interface between the country’s political history, ideological and philosophical

development and the influence of individual actors in determining the processes and outcome of

democratic transition in Tanzania. Institutionalism and rational choice form the theoretical framework

1 National Electoral Commission http://www.nec.go.tz/political_party.asp?menu=sub8&maintitle=registered&page=4

5

for this inquiry. Consequently, the role, both the formal and informal, of the institutions designed to

safeguard and promote democratisation is analysed to determine any causal mechanisms pertaining to

the strengths and weaknesses of political parties in the transition process (Bratton, 1994; Manning,

2006). This forms the overall country context in which political parties operate. More specifically, an

assessment of the legal and constitutional provisions that regulate and govern the conduct of political

parties will be examined in detail.

The second part of the paper deals with the internal structures and functioning of political parties

within Tanzania in order to determine the characteristics of internal democracy within these parties

and how this impacts on their overall effectiveness (S. Mushi, 2001; S. S. Mushi et al., 2004). This

part examines the variables of ideological and philosophical foundations and process of policy

formulation; processes of leadership selection; membership participation; electoral activity including

candidate selection and campaigns; and party funding (Chege et al., 2007).

The research is based on a study of the five parliamentary political parties in Tanzania, namely:

* Chama Cha Mapinduzi (Revolutionary State Party) * Civic United Front (Chama Cha Wananchi)

* Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Party for Democracy and Progress)

* Tanzania Labour Party

* United Democratic Party

Data collection was carried out by means of three methods. First, information on the overall country

context was obtained from published research, articles, country reports and official documents such as

the constitution and different Acts of Parliament. Secondly, in-depth interviews were conducted with

leading party officials and representatives or spokespersons for the youth, women, disabled and other

party organs such as the parents’ association for CCM. Interviews were also conducted with political

commentators, critics, writers and academics with a view to generating information, views and

perspectives outside of the political actors in order to increase the validity of observations and

conclusions drawn in the research. Finally, the bulk of detailed party information on internal

structures, decision-making processes and institutional set-up was obtained through a structured in-

depth questionnaire distributed to the parties and filled out by selected party technocrats.

It is worth noting that this methodology is heavily top down and data collected my present official

party positions. This may to some extent compromise the objectivity of the findings and any

inferences or conclusions drawn on the basis of the data available. Perhaps a more objective result

would have been obtained by counterbalancing the official party line with that of ordinary party

members to gauge the view from the bottom.

The entire research was carried out in the main city of Dar es Salaam and the respondents may have a

somewhat elitist perspective of the political process. A more comprehensive approach should have

extended the scope of the research to the rural areas sampling responses from different regions and

districts in the country. This was however not possible within the scope of this research due to time

and financial constraints.

Another factor to be taken into consideration is that some of the respondents to the questionnaire did

not have access to all the party records in order to complete the questionnaire comprehensively. Such

sensitive matters such as financial records were not available to some of the respondents of in some

cases the parties were reluctant to divulge their financial information since these are considered

confidential party information. Some interviews especially of youth and women representatives were

in most cases conducted in the presence of other senior party officials and in many cases, the

respondents appeared to feel intimidated and showed lack of confidence in responding fully to some

of the questions.

6

2. External Environment

Tanzania has continued to exhibit a gradual increase in political pluralism although the ruling party

CCM continues to dominate parliament and government. The legacy of socialism, its value system

and the personal influence of the first president Julius Nyerere still cast a long shadow over social and

political changes in the country. The ruling party and the nation is at cross-roads between preservation

of long standing and cherished values of socialism, self-reliance and an inward looking mind-set on

the one hand and the pressures of neoliberalism, open political competition, economic and social

reform on the other. Opposition parties complain of intimidation and harassment from state agents as

well as unfair electoral practices from state institutions (Yahya-Othman, Mushi, & Mukandala, 2004).

Among other democratisation indicators, there is a relatively free and vibrant independent media, but

government control still remains strong over state owned media, which has the widest reach across the

country. Civil society is increasingly vocal and active but mostly restricted to the main cities and

urban centres. Adult literacy rate continues to rise of about 70% levels. While the economy is growing

steadily at a rate of about 5 to 6 % since 2000, the growth of the private sector is still weak and

unemployment is relatively high in both rural and urban areas. All these factors impinge on the

process of democratic consolidation and require closer scrutiny (World Bank, 2007).

2.1. Political history

2.1.1. Emergence of Single Party Rule

The process of democratisation in Tanzania is largely influenced by the country’s political history and

the role played by the ruling party at pre-independence as a liberation movement and later as a force

for national cohesion and development. TANU emerged as the leading pre-independence party in

Tanganyika after its leader Julius Nyerere gained the confidence of a number of fragmented ethnic

based political movements. The party gained even more credibility and wider support from trade

unions and agricultural cooperatives (Temwende, 2004). It is this association with the rural masses

and the working class that has continued to endear the party to wider public.

As a broad-based mass movement, TANU embodied the nationalist aspirations of a majority of the

Tanganyika polity, emerging early at independence as a dominant party and the country had a de facto

one party system (Temwende, 2004). The party had never lost any elections before and after

independence. According to historian and political scientist Prof Haroub Othman, if a referendum was

done then on a single party system, the country would have returned a resounding YES by about 80%

to 90%. Such was the dominance of the ruling party that the power of parliament was subsumed hence

precipitating the consolidation of a single party regime in 1964, barely three years after independence

(Nyirabu, 2002).

The country’s ideological path towards socialism is another significant contributing factor to the

dominance of the ruling party and subsequent ineffectiveness of opposition politics. The 1967 Arusha

declaration on socialism and self-reliance to a large extent contributed to the strengthening of the party

monopoly of politics. University of Dar es Salaam political scientist Dr. Bakari, argues that socialism

and statism were mutually reinforced and the high degree of centralization meant that there was little

distinction between the party and the state. His contemporary, Prof Haroub Othman however rejected

this explanation and instead advances the view that the push towards a single party system was not

linked to the country’s adoption of socialist policies. He argues that, the leadership at the time was

7

motivated more by recognition of the need to consolidate national cohesion and accelerate the pace of

development and that in such a heterogeneously fragmented polity, this could only be achieved

through the creation of a single mass movement behind which the whole society could be mobilised.

Although a de facto single party regime was in place from 1965, the country was technically under the

control of two political parties; TANU in the mainland and ASP in Zanzibar. TANU’s merger with the

Afro-Shirazi Party in 1977 resulted in the consolidation of all political forces and power in the country

under one party, CCM as the de jure single party. The country then formally became a one-party state

and all policy and decision making power was centralised within the party which became the supreme

organ of governance. Parliament was then transformed into a committee of the party and there was no

distinction between the party and the state (Nyirabu, 2002).

2.1.2. Socialism and the One-Party State

The adoption of socialist ideology significantly contributed to and indeed spurred the consolidation of

a single party regime in Tanzania. The CCM constitution in its preamble clearly states that ‘the

existence of two political parties in a One-Party setting weakens our unity and strength and renders us

unable to maximise our determination to carry forward the struggle to build socialism in Tanzania’

(Chama cha Mapinduzi, 2005, p. 3). The subsequent merger of TANU and ASP into CCM further

entrenched the party as the supreme decision making organ in the country. It is important to note that

to date, the CCM constitution as it stands still vests such supreme powers on the party and

emphasizes: ‘It is our intention that the Party we are establishing shall have complete and supreme

authority over all public affairs’ (ibid, p. 4).

The party therefore became a parallel bureaucracy to the extent that key administrative positions in

government were held by party bureaucrats. For instance, the Regional State Commissioner was the

party regional secretary, the District Commissioner was the party district secretary and the National

Executive Committee of the party became more powerful than the cabinet while the parliament was

reduced into a committee of the party. According to Prof Othman, the national assembly became a

committee of the party and members of parliament automatically became delegates of the national

party conference whose role was to legislate party directives and party. Parliament lost its sovereignty

as an independent arm of government; it simply existed to rubberstamp and legitimise decisions by the

Central Committee of the party. The concept of party supremacy was unassailed and all political

activity was to be conducted under the auspices of the party.

A key pillar of democracy was thus compromised as the legislative arm of government lost its

sovereignty and with it the ability to hold the executive to account. The party therefore entrenched

itself in virtually all structures of government and public service such that there was no distinction

between the party and the state. Patronage was dispensed along party structures. Access to positions in

government at all levels meant that one had to toe the party line (Baregu et al., 2001). For instance, it

could be very difficult if one was not a member of the NEC of the party to become a minister. That is

why there was a high degree of fusion between the government and the party such that party officials

considered themselves as government officials and government officials considered themselves as

party officials, whether formally or informally (Nyirabu, 2002, p. 101).

8

Such deeply entrenched structures, the fusion of state and party and culture of patronage could not be

done away with by simply amending an article in the constitution to allow for more political parties in

the country. This gives credence to calls for a complete overhaul of the constitutional order in the

country to dismantle the vestiges of the party state and create conditions necessary for a truly

multiparty democratic culture to take root.

2.1.3. The Nyerere Factor

President Julius Nyerere’s personal charisma and leadership integrity played a significant role in the

entrenchment of the one party system in Tanzania. The combination of the socialist rhetoric, the drive

for consolidation of nationalism and the presence of a towering charismatic leader let to a political

environment that stifled dissent. Critical voices were seen as counterproductive, retrogressive and

unpatriotic. According to Dr. Bakari, the more the party consolidated its position and centralized

decision making, the more it became unforgiving and repressive of criticism. Opponents were seen as

disrespecting the father of the nation and the ideals that gave birth to Tanzania.

Critical voices begun to emerge after Nyerere’s exit from the presidency and active politics, but he

still continued to be an influential figure in the country’s political set up and thinking. Such was his

influence that even though a constitutional commission set up in 1991 to gather the citizens’ views on

a return to multipartysm found a majority in favour of the one party system, Nyerere’s

recommendation for reintroduction of multipartysm was unchallenged (S. Mushi, 2001; S. S. Mushi et

al., 2004). Just as he spearheaded the single-party system, Nyerere played a major role in the return to

multipartysm in Tanzania. The constitutional referendum resulted in 80% of Tanzanians voting for

retention of one party state although they wanted several modifications within CCM, while 20%

wanted the introduction of multipartysm. According to Dr Paramagamba Kabudi, a law professor at

the University of Dar es Salaam, Nyerere was emphatic on the need to respect the views of the

minority and accept multiparty politics. He further contends that Nyerere thought it was better to

accede to the demands of a few, rather than risk mass protests and social upheaval when inevitably the

pro-democracy base gained more support across the country.

The government, then under the leadership of president Ali Hassan Mwinyi, agreed to proceed with

initial steps towards reestablishment of pluralist politics. With just a 20% minority support for change,

it was possible for the government to manage the transition to multipartysm on its own terms, rather

resist it until there came a critical mass demanding change and the government may lose control

(Maliyamkono & Kanyongolo, 2003). Secondly, Nyerere may have read the signs of the times as

communism crumbled in Eastern Europe and the clamour for change swept across Africa. He stressed

that in such issues, a critical mass was not needed to change direction, adding that his previous support

for a one party state was not a permanent, but rather that it was a specific intervention to create a

nation. According to Prof Kabudi, Nyerere’s argument was that in 1961 Tanzania had 120 tribes and

his intention was to create one cohesive nation, an endeavour which in his view he had succeeded. It

was therefore no longer necessary to retain the one party system.

Unlike the trend in most African countries where the incumbent party became unpopular after the

reintroduction of multipartysm, Nyerere’s genius in deflecting criticism for the failures of the socialist

experiment, according to University of Dar es Salaam political scientist Dr Benadetta Killian, meant

that the government and the party emerged relatively unscathed. The blame shifted to either

imperialists or the war with Uganda resulting from Dictator Idi Amin’s invasion of Tanzania. While

9

the goal of national cohesion and stability was achieved, the downside of this legacy is that it did stifle

and undermine critical thinking. There developed instead a political culture of docility and

submissiveness and this view is supported by the registrar of political parties in Tanzania that to date,

“there is that unspoken pact that the population is calm, quiet, satisfied by the little, not aggressively

competitive…there is no vibrant aggressive and competitive politics as you have in Kenya or

Uganda”. The party and government continued to enjoy significant support even at the most difficult

times in the 1980s and beyond when CCM was seen as having brought in multipartysm. The rural

uneducated folk still see the party as the embodiment of the state. Dr Killian concludes that there is

still a high level of trust, though there are signs that this is changing.

2.2. State managed transition

2.2.1. Change under state control

The transition to multiparty pluralism was thrust upon Tanzania by the vagaries of neoliberalism. The

Ujamaa socialist policies of villagisation in the 1970’s had failed to propel the country towards

economic development. Tanzania became one of the poorest countries in the world.

A series of economic liberalization and structural adjustments were imposed by its bilateral donors

and the discourse rapidly grew for a need to reform the political system in tandem with ongoing

economic reforms. The predominant theoretical and policy position being that in order to maximize

gains from economic liberalization, the country’s political and ideological track had to change as well.

The top-down, heavily centralized system of governance entrenched by single party rule had to pave

way for open political competition, increased citizen’s participation in governance and decision

making processes.

A presidential commission headed by former Chief Justice Francis Nyalali was set up in 1991 to

gather citizen’s views on a return to multiparty politics. Prof Othman who was a member of the

Nyalali commission says he was surprised to find that the bulk of the business community which was

believed to be in favour of political pluralism were actually keen to have the status quo remain. It

emerged that the business and political elite were benefiting greatly from the single party system

through entrenched patronage and clientelist structures perpetuated by CCM.

The move to open up political space came at a time when communism was crumbling in Eastern

Europe and around the neighbouring states such as Kenya, Zambia and Malawi, calls for political

pluralism were increasingly turning violent and the state appeared besieged. This prompted the

leadership in CCM to put in motion processes of a managed transition. Although the Nyalali

commission found that about 80% of the population wanted a continuation of one party rule, its

recommendations for the gradual adoption of multipartysm were adopted by the ruling party.

According to Prof Othman, several factors informed their recommendation for a return to

multipartysm:

1. That it was incumbent upon the government to respect the right of the 20% of the population

that openly demanded a multiparty system. The consequence of denying their wishes could

only mean growing street protest and possibly civil strife. It was a desire to prevent this

prospect that the commission made its recommendations.

10

2. That while there was a rationale in 1965 to adopt single party rule, that rationale did not

necessarily still hold today more than 20 years later.

3. Internationally, the concept of the one party was no longer tenable. It could not be argued for

nor defended.

4. Regional trends indicated that most African countries were turning to multipartysm, they felt

that Tanzania should not be left behind as the last bastion of single party authoritarianism.

5. Donor pressure from both bilateral and multilateral partners had already indicated that they

were not happy with a one party system. Despite misgivings about donor double standards in

tolerating Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni’s no-party authoritarianism for a significant

amount of time, Tanzania felt it was time to give in.

6. The influence of Nyerere was also evident. He was the architect of the one party system, but

he also championed strongly for reintroduction of the multiparty system. His influence was

strong such that if left on its own, the ruling party may not have decided at that time to go

multiparty.

Multipartysm was eventually introduced in 1992 by way of a constitutional amendment (Act No.4 of

1992) transforming Tanzania from a one party state to a multiparty democracy (United Republic of

Tanzania, 1998, p. 14). The government immediately put in place mechanisms to create institutions to

manage the democratisation process. Hence came Act No.5 of 1992 which established the office of the

registrar of political parties and Article 74(1) which established the National Electoral Commission

(NEC) in 1993. While both organs are meant to be autonomous and independent, this has come into

doubt since all directors and commissioners are appointed directly by the president. The opposition is

wont to see their loyalty as being to the appointing authority as opposed to safeguarding democratic

principles.

Tanzania became the first country in Africa to enact a political parties act providing guidelines for the

registration of political parties (S. S. Mushi et al., 2004). The act created the office of the registrar of

political parties to regulate and monitor the conduct of political parties. The act also provides for

public funding of political parties. This was first restricted to those that won seats in parliament, but

was later extended to those that won seats in local government or council elections. The government

was keen to eliminate the need for external funding of political parties, which in its view may have

created appendages or affiliates of external political parties and their ideologies.

2.2.2. A Flawed Process

The control and direction of the reform process by the state, according to Prof Othman, inevitably led

to a situation where changes were piecemeal and minimal. Only changes that would provide a

semblance of democracy without threatening the status quo were allowed to proceed under careful

state control. Consequently, a wide range of far reaching constitutional and institutional changes that

were recommended by the Nyalali commission to ensure the entrenchment of a truly representative

multiparty democracy were ignored or flouted.

First, it was proposed that there be a clear separation between the party and the state. This was

implemented only partially as party branches were removed from state institutions such as

universities, ministries and state corporation premises. Still, the structural and institutional linkages

that bound the party and the state were left intact, hence giving the ruling party overwhelming

advantage over the new opposition parties. For instance, when the president goes around the country

to address a party meeting, he is often received as head of state, everything organised and funded by

11

state organs. Similarly, when the he attends a function as the head of state, he is often received at the

airport with all in attendance wearing party uniforms. When government meetings are held at the

regional level for instance, it is attended only by ruling party functionaries and other parties are

excluded.

Secondly, effective civic education is a prerequisite for the success of any democratisation process.

The commission recommended that the three years between introduction of multipartysm in 1992 and

the first multiparty election in 1995 be utilized for extensive civic education. For 27 years, the

citizenry had lived under a one party system, a whole generation had no experience with

multipartysm. There was need to educate them on the basic tenets of pluralism; concepts of tolerance,

respect for opposing views and accepting to listen to other people’s ideas.

This however did not happen. There seems to be confusion between the offices of the registrar of

political parties and the National Electoral Commission regarding the mandate for civic education.

John Billy Tendwa, the Registrar of Political Parties argues that as the supervisor of democracy in the

country, it is the duty of his office “to ensure civic education is carried out both in political parties and

in society in general”. The director of elections at the NEC on the other hand asserts “We have been

assigned legally the responsibility of voter education” (Kiravu, interview). The situation has thus

been characterized by turf wars over funding, duplication of roles and in most cases inaction.

The registrar of political parties concedes that contrary to the Nyalai commission’s recommendations,

“there was no time and no provision made for civic education to be given to the people to know and

understand what multiparty democracy meant…it took them up to ten years to know that we were

under multiparty democracy, to understand the role, duties, functions and purpose of political parties

under the system” (Tendwa, interview).

Third, democracy implies effective competition between political parties on a level playing field. In

recognition of this, the commission did propose that all political parties should start registration afresh

including the ruling party. The ruling party was in control of the reform process through parliamentary

legislation to which it was the sole and only party. It therefore passed the Political Parties Act

establishing that its own registration was automatic while the other parties should be subjected to

conditions to fulfil for registration.

Fourth, party finance is crucial to a party’s ability to recruit and mobilize members, develop attractive

policy plans and sell this to the electorate as well as waging successful campaigns. In recognition of

this, the commission did recommend that all party properties such as buildings and stadia be given

back to government since they were contributed to by all Tanzanians whether they were party

members or not. The ruling party failed to do this claiming that all the properties it owned belonged to

the party.

Fifth, the introduction of a multiparty system after many years of deeply entrenched and

institutionalised one party system is such a fundamental change that requires among many other

measures a new constitution to dismantle the single party apparatus. It was recommended that a

commission be established to seek people’s views and draft a constitution to be debated and put to a

referendum. This did not happen, but instead each time the government felt the need for a change; it

resorted to piecemeal amendments which in most cases favoured the ruling party. The demand for a

new constitution therefore still remains a rallying call for opposition groups across the country.

12

2.3. Political, legal, and constitutional framework

The general political environment in which political parties operate in Tanzania tends to disadvantages

the opposition in favour of the ruling party. As outlined in the previous section, there is a massive

resource imbalance in favour of CCM which took over or assumed all the resources of the single party

system. Newly created opposition parties were expected to compete with a party that had been in

existence for more than 40 years, had amassed vast property, real estate and infrastructure such as

buildings and stadiums throughout the country. In addition, CCM continued to enjoy access to state

resources in a structure that did not distinguish the party from the state.

The argument that CCM should have relinquished all its property to the state has however been

challenged by Prof Kabudi on the basis that TANU had set up and ran no less than twenty two

companies by 1964 that were incorporated under ‘Mwananchi Development Corporation’, a party

investment company. All these companies and its properties were then handed over to the state

following the Arusha Declaration of Ujamaa socialism and subsequent nationalization programme.

But political historians observe that this does not mean that CCM did not benefit from the state

thereafter since there was no real division between the state and the party (Makinda, 2003; Salih,

2003). When the country went multiparty, some properties went back to the government and some

were retained by the party. It was therefore challenging for all opposition parties to compete

effectively, but according to Dr Killian, they have shown remarkable resilience especially in the first

multiparty elections in 1995. The opposition got 40% of the parliamentary vote, but failed to capitalize

in this initial success with their performance going down in every successive election since then.

The remarkable performance of the opposition in the 1995 election came as a surprise to the ruling

party which had taken for granted its dominance throughout the country. The ruling party was shaken

and according to Dr Killian, it resorted to using the government machinery to undermine support for

the opposition by tightening the rules and regulations that favoured opposition parties. While on the

surface, constitutional provisions existed to safeguard the multipartysm, other legal reforms were

introduced to curtail civic participation in politics.

The vanguard of the pro-reform movement was among academics in universities and other

professionals. Before 1997, any civil servant could take a leave of absence, join a political party and

contest an election, if they did not succeed; they could come back to their jobs. As a result, many

academics, doctors, teachers and other professionals joined politics. Then there came a rule that once

one is declared a candidate of any political party, they must quit their job and should they lose and

want their job back, they would have to reapply, so no one dared quit and lose their security of tenure.

The perception remains strong that such rules were expressly targeted at the opposition which made it

difficult for it to thrive and the legal regime makes it difficult for these parties which are already

structurally weaker than the ruling party.

The call for far reaching constitutional reforms continues to grow among the political opposition and

as well as those involved in the democratic transition. A sticking point remains the powers vested on

the president to appoint senior officers to the National Electoral Commission and the Registrar of

Political Parties without reference to any other regulatory mechanism. This casts in doubt the

independence of these institutions which are perceived by the opposition to be partisan and pro-

government and likely to owe allegiance to the appointing authority who happens to be the leader of

the ruling party against whom they have to compete in an election (Baregu et al., 2001).

13

Constitutional reform remains a deeply contentious issue in Tanzania. Prof Kabudi maintains that

what was important was the removal from the constitution of the article barring the practice of other

political parties. According to him, there have been many amendments in the Zanzibar and Tanzania

constitutions that no one is talking about and are not existent in other countries. For instance, since

1984 local participation in government and decentralization by devolution being talked about in

Kenya is already the norm in Tanzania. His position is that the one party state constitution had certain

fundamental provisions that are conducive for today and it is up to the opposition to bring about

gradual changes in the interpretation and practice of the law and constitution by challenging perceived

unfair practice through the legal system. He cites the case of an opposition politician Rev. Christopher

Mtikila who has gone to court many times and won landmark constitutional cases.

The rule of law and constitutionalism as an ideology of governance may in practice vary greatly.

While the legal and law enforcement institutions such as the courts and the police force may exist and

offenders are charged and sentenced, the question of equality before the law in terms of the political

process may be doubtful. Dr Mvungi, a law professor and leading opposition figure argues that the

present law does not protect fairness before in the political process and system. He maintains that the

struggle to change the constitution within the terms of this constitution will continue. “But we stand a

better chance to do it extra constitutionally. Change has to move from without”.

The current constitution is also restrictive in terms of formation of political coalitions as well as

provision for independent candidates. The registrar of political parties and the electoral commission

recognise these shortcomings and have pledged to push for the reform of electoral laws. The office of

the registrar of political parties is in the process of amending the law to allow mergers and alliances

between political parties to be recognized in law. During an interview, Mr J.B. Tendwa, the then

registrar of political parties maintained that “There are friendly associations of parties, but we want

them to be recognized by law, to be an entity, to be recognized and have an emblem, so they are

powerful, competitive and be recognized by the public.”

The National Electoral Commission (NEC) is also making commitments to improve electoral laws for

better performance of the electoral process. According to the head of the commission Mr R. Kiravu,

the NEC had made recommendations for a review of its legal framework to streamline the conduct

and supervision of elections, a review of its top-heavy structure which is only functional at the

headquarters. The electoral commission has especially come in for severe criticism for using

government functionaries at regional, district and village levels during elections, casting doubt on the

independence and legitimacy of the election process. The director of elections agrees that there is a

need to strengthen its presence beyond the capital. “We are not comfortable with the use of

government functionaries; we feel we should have a certain level or presence in the regions, and

constituencies to bolster our effectiveness and independence.”

Immediately following the introduction of multipartysm, the civic education component was not

effectively addressed. Belatedly, the electoral commission was legally mandated with the

responsibility of voter education in the 2005 election. This is only limited to the electoral process, but

the issue of civic education is still open (NEC, 2005; TEMCO, 2006). The director of elections

recognises that this constitutes a major gap in the democratisation process. “We prepare well for the

election, but the key stakeholders are the voters and civil education is critical to the success of the

whole process.” The registrar of political parties observed that one of its critical mandates is civic

education. In his view, the electoral commission is structurally ill equipped to carry out this role since

14

it’s only active immediately before and during an election alone and is dormant for the next four

years.

In order to further entrench the democratic process, a code of conduct was developed in 2005. The

voluntary Code of Ethic for Elections ("the Code") was agreed on and endorsed by the National

Electoral Commission (NEC), the government, and political parties (NEC, 2005, p. 27). In the

introduction, the document lays out the purpose of the Code, namely to "sustain fairness, mutual

understanding and tolerance among stakeholders and guarantee peace and tranquillity throughout the

electoral process" (NEC, 2005, p. 10). The Code addresses three main areas, Ethics for Political

Parties and Candidates, Ethics for the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania and Ethics for

the National Electoral Commission.

The Tanzania Centre for Democracy (TCD), which is an independent body formed by all

parliamentary political parties in Tanzania is working together with the registrar of political parties to

lobby for the inclusion of the Code of conduct among proposed changes to the Political Parties Act

and electoral laws. This will make it mandatory for all parties to sign up and comply with the Code as

opposed to being voluntary. Other proposed changes include reform of voter registration processes

and update of permanent voters register as well as expansion of the mandate and capacity of the

electoral commission.

3. Mapping Political Parties

3.1. Founding principles and ideologies

Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM)

Chama Cha Mapinduzi (Revolutionary Party) was officially founded in 1977 following the merger of

the two single parties in Tanzania Mainland (TANU) and Zanzibar (Afro-Shirazi Party). This saw

Tanzania officially declared a single party state. The party became a champion of African socialism

based on self-reliance and upheld a system of collectivised agriculture known as Ujamaa. It was

firmly oriented to the left and it became the main instrument of policy formulation and exercising state

power.

Although it now espouses a more pragmatic approach CCM has a distinct revolutionary history having

taken over from the independence parties in Tanganyika and Zanzibar. It still casts itself as a mass

liberation party, a broad based movement that represents and champions the rights and aspirations of

the poor masses. As a socialist party, its founders saw it as representing the interests of the peasants

and workers, hence a mass party for all Tanzanians. This ideological position still informs the party’s

rhetoric to date, although in practice, according to political commentator Mr M. wa Kuhenga, it is

increasingly seen as corrupt, elitist, out of touch with aspirations and realities of the common people

and protecting the interests of big business and foreign capital.

In theory, CCM still views its mission as principally to ‘consolidate national unity, carry out the

socialist revolution in Tanzania and to unflinchingly render support to the struggle for liberation in

Africa and in other parts of the world’ (Chama cha Mapinduzi, 2005, p. 1). In practice however, the

party is more liberal and conceives of economic modernization and free market policies as ways to

raise the living standards of the citizens of Tanzania. Its major policy areas include:

15

1. Increased productivity to boost the country's revenue

2. Increased employment and public service management

3. Acquisition of new and modern technology

4. Increased and expanded local and international markets for local products;

5. Improved and strengthened private sector as the engine of the economic development

6. Improved good governance for better provision of social services, infrastructure and security.

Its main foreign policy focus is economic diplomacy within the international system, and peaceful

coexistence with neighbours (Shayo, 2005).

Civic United Front (CUF)

The Civic United Front (Chama cha Wananchi) was formed on 28 May 1992 through a merger of two

formerly existing movements: a pressure group for democratisation in Zanzibar KAMAHURU, and the

Civic Movement, a human rights organization based on the mainland. This was necessitated by the

need to have a presence both in the mainland and in Zanzibar as well as broadening its membership

and support base.

Its chief founder was Shariff Hamad, a former Zanzibar chief minister in the CCM government while

many of its leaders were former stalwarts of the ruling CCM, some of who had been expelled over

disputes about party and government policy. The party received full registration and recognition on 21

January 1993. The party identifies itself as a broad based mass party and does not claim to cater for

any specific interest groups. It has a strong base both in Zanzibar and on the mainland.

The CUF describes itself as a liberal party and a member of Liberal International. Its founding

principles include the improvement the well-being of all Tanzanians with respect to socio-economic

and political matters. Its priority is to address the needs, interests and priorities of low-income section

of the population particularly in the informal sector.1

CHADEMA

The party was founded and registered on July 1st 1992 under the leadership of Edwin Mtei, a former

Minister of Finance in the CCM government. He was backed by a group of former civil servants and

private sector executives after a consultative meeting of civil society groups in Dar es Salaam. Its full

name translates loosely as the ‘party for democracy and progress’. It describes itself as a centre right

party with a populist philosophy of “people power”2. Its ideals include the deepening of democracy

and advocates for a social market economy.

Unlike some opposition parties such as NCCR-Mageuzi and TLP, Chadema has undergone no split in

its ranks and has retained both its original name and core membership. The party is considered to have

a centre-right alignment. Its founding principles include economic empowerment and raising living

standards for the country’s majority poor, enhancing the role of the private sector of the country’s

economy, good governance, stepping up the fight against corruption and introduction of a federalist

system of government.

1 CUF Manifesto 2005

2 CHADEMA philosophy, http://www.chadema.net/nyaraka/falsafa.php

16

The party registered less than impressive performance in the 1995 and 2000 elections. In the 2005

presidential elections, its candidate Freeman Mbowe came third out of ten candidates, winning 5.88%

of the vote (NEC). The party won five seats in the national assembly. The party draws the bulk of its

support from civic and business groups, though it is now expanding its base to appeal to the wider

public especially the rural masses.

The party was re-launched in August 2006, undergoing an extensive reorganisation of its structures

and programmes in readiness for the 2010 general elections. It streamlined its constitution, party rules

and structures including the launching of the youth and women’s wings of the party, new party flag,

colours and party cards. In doing so, the party sought to be more responsive to the Tanzanian public in

economic, social and political spheres.1

United Democratic Party (UDP)

The party was founded and registered in Dar es Salaam on March 24, 1994. It describes itself as a

liberal party and is an observer at Liberal International. It styles itself as championing the interests of

farmers and the working class and seeks to draw some of its support from civic groups. The party won

2 out of 269 seats in the National Assembly in the 2000 legislative elections, while its presidential

candidate John M. Cheyo won 4.2% of the presidential vote. The party has since seen it fortunes

decline and did not field a presidential candidate in the 2005 election, but did win one seat in National

Assembly. The table below shows the performance of the main political parties in the 2005 general

election and the number of seats held in the union parliament.

Figure 1: Summary of the 14 December 2005 National Assembly of Tanzania election results

Parties

Votes % Direct

seats

Add.

Women

seats

Total

seats

Chama Cha Mapinduzi (Revolutionary Party) 7,579,897 70.0 206 58 264

Civic United Front (Chama Cha Wananchi) 1,551,243 14.3 19 11 30

Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Party for

Democracy and Progress) 888,133 8.2 5 6 11

Tanzania Labour Party 297,230 2.7 1 — 1

National Convention for Construction and Reform–

Mageuzi 239,452 2.2 — — —

United Democratic Party 155,887 1.4 1 — 1

Others 117,671 1.2 — — —

Members nominated by the Union president 10

Representatives of the Zanzibar House of Representatives 5

Ex officio members 2

Total (turnout 72%) 10,829,513 100.0 236 75 324

Source: Parliament of Tanzania2

1 CHADEMA website http://www.chadema.net/chama/uzinduzi.php

2 Parliament of Tanzania http://www.parliament.go.tz/bunge/Mp_ls3.asp

17

3.2. Internal structure and leadership selection

The Political Parties Act (1992) provides some general guidelines regarding expectations of internal

democracy within political parties. Section 2(e) stipulates that a party shall not be eligible for

registration if it does not allow periodic and democratic election of its leadership. Additionally, parties

are required to demonstrate that they draw sufficient support from across the country by giving

evidence that they have at least 200 members aged above 18 years and have support from at least 10

regions, two of which must be from Zanzibar and Pemba. Parties are also required to submit names of

their parties’ national leaders, one from the Mainland and the other from Zanzibar.

The Act does not however define what it means by ‘periodic and democratic’ elections. This leaves it

open for interpretation. Additionally, it does not specify the means by which such requirements can

be monitored. The registrar of political parties however indicates that its officers are sent as observers

during party elections in order to ensure that these meet acceptable standards without which the new

leadership lists would not be accepted and parties would be required to repeat the exercise where

necessary.

3.3. Organisational rules and regulatory framework

Party documents such as a constitution, election manifestos, policy and operational guidelines provide

the organisational and philosophical framework underlying their operations. Virtually all registered

political parties in Tanzania have at least on paper basic party documents that espouse and guarantee

processes of internal democracy through leadership election, membership participation, selection of

candidates, policy formulation and finances. Most of these documents have undergone frequent

reviews and reflect a number of amendments to the original constitution. The most recent CCM

constitution for example is dated May 2005. It is the 11th edition since it was drafted in 1977. CUF

has a 2003 edition, TLP 2005 and CHADEMA 2006. The structural organisation and mode of

leadership selection or election determines the degree of internal democracy within a political party.

The following sections will look at these aspects in some more detail.

Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM)

The party’s constitution has one of the most detailed breakdowns of all the party structures and organs

from the village or ward level to the national level. It outlines the rights and obligations of party

members and leadership and details the processes of leadership selection and members’ representation

and participation through the ranks. The Party Guidelines document also contains elaborate

regulations governing almost every aspect of the party.

Some of the key articles contained in the constitution include: objectives and aims of the party

membership and leadership, conditions for joining the party, training of new members, membership

contributions, annual fees, cessation of party membership and membership rights and obligations.

Also included are regulations governing Party meetings and functions from branch to national level,

including: The National Congress; the National Executive Committee (NEC) and its secretariat; and

the Central Committee (CC) of the NEC.

The Central Committee is the most powerful organ of the pasty whose duties includes providing

general political guidance; overseeing the implementation of party activities at all levels; spreading the

policy of the CCM throughout the country; monitoring the implementation of party elections; and

appointment of district party leaders.

18

During presidential elections, the Central Committee has powers over nomination and

recommendation of party members for the positions of chairperson and deputy chairperson of the

party; the president of the republic Tanzania; MPs and members of the House of Representatives. It is

also responsible for disciplinary action against all party members except the party’s chairperson and

deputy chairperson; and issues relating to national security and development.

CHADEMA

The party’s constitution provides clear operational guidelines on its philosophical and ideological

foundations, membership formation and roles of party organs from national to branch levels as well as

party revenue and financial issues. The National Governing Council (NGC) is the highest executive

organ of the party and meets every five years. The constitution provides procedures for the selection

of its members, as well as the selection of candidates for parliament and membership of regional and

district branch offices.

The constitution also provides for the election of officials for party wings such as women, youth and

people with disabilities. Structurally, lower-level bodies elect most of the party leadership in a bottom-

up approach, while higher-level bodies elect the directors of various departments.

Chadema has no formal internal quotas for women or youth. The party however says it is putting in

place deliberate measures to bring them to the mainstream. One is to develop and strengthen their own

autonomous organ (wings) within the party and empower them to conduct their own programmes and

projects. The other strategy is to step up membership recruitment targeting these groups and give them

a significant share in the running of the party.

At the time of writing, 37% of the members of the NGC were women and almost 23% were youth.

The party was developing a budget aimed at ensuring equity with other programs and sections of the

party in terms of resource allocation. NGC members receive no salaries but are paid some allowances

whenever they attend meetings. Whenever possible allowances are also paid at district and regional

levels, but no salaries are paid.

The next highest permanent organ is the NEC. Its membership is elected by national, regional and

district congresses. Women’s and youth wings at regional and district levels also send representatives

to the NEC. The party’s national chairperson appoints 12 more members, half from the Mainland and

half from Zanzibar and six of them have to be women or youth. The party has a code of ethics for

regulating ethical conduct and behaviour of its members and officials.

The sub-branch is the party’s most local branch with some 25,000 sub-branches composed of at least

eight members living in a sub-village. This is followed by the branch made up of several sub-

branches. So far there are at least 8,000 branches. There are also approximately 130 district branches

and several women’s and youth wings throughout the country. After the district is the regional branch

and there are 26 for each of the country’s 26 regions, five of which are in Zanzibar. In terms of

leadership selection at the branch level, a representative from a district branch supervises the choice of

the leader of a sub-branch. Party members are required to pay a total of TSh500 as annual and

subscription fees.

19

Civic United Front (CUF)

The current CUF constitution was formulated in 1993 and revised in 2003. Its operational guidelines

are similar to those of the CCM. The party’s highest decision-making body is the General Governing

Council (GGC), a national organ that meets on a quarterly basis. Its membership is composed of 45

representatives; 25 from the Mainland and 20 from Zanzibar. These are elected by delegates to the

party’s General Congress, which meets every two and a half years. Delegates to the General Congress

are required to pay a registration fee of Tsh500. They comprise representatives from regional and

local party branches and other affiliates, such as youth and women’s wings. Delegates are not paid any

salaries, but receive allowances. Decisions taken by the congress are not binding on the party and have

to be ratified by the GGC. The party’s constitution also gives guidance on the formation of party

branches, for which a membership of 50 is required.

Overall observations

Despite attempts by respondents to present their parties as following democratic procedures in

decision making and leadership election processes, the party structures outlined in their constitutions

are heavily top-down and concentrate immense power at the top organs of the party. In most cases, the

national delegates’ conferences only serve to endorse decisions already made by the top party organs

such as the central committees or the NECs.

In most cases, especially among opposition parties, the party leadership has been accused of

encouraging and entrenching a personality cult where the exclusive power is concentrated in the hands

of the party leader. Consequently, some party leaders have created parallel informal structures

alongside the formal party structures to entrench close and trusted loyalists in influential party

positions. This tends to create friction within the party resulting in power struggles and eventual splits

in the party. This was the case with the split of NCCR-Mageuzi when a sizeable section of the party

broke away to join TLP. Structurally, the chairperson is usually the senior and most influential party

officer.

Opposition parties have been especially criticised for failing to offer fresh and alternative

organizational and hierarchical structures that are more responsive and representative of the

aspirations of the party rank and file and the wider public. Most have adopted the same top-heavy

leadership structures as the CCM from which most opposition party leaders broke away.

3.3.1. Policy Development

This is mostly a centralised and top-down process. Policy papers are mostly drafted by departmental

heads or consultants; they are then presented at party secretariats for discussion and improvement.

According to Chadema members and other stakeholders are first consulted through workshops and

conferences to initiate policy development. This could not however be verified. For UDP, the process

is initiated by the central committee, then approved by the NEC and eventually adopted by the

national delegates’ conference. Most parties follow the same pattern where the revised policy

proposal documents are forwarded to the central committees or the governing council for further

deliberations, after which they go up to the parties’ highest decision-making organs for final approval

and endorsement.

The overall policy statements of all the parties surveyed were very similar. Almost all parties

expressed commitment to improve social services delivery especially in the areas of health, education,

unemployment and combating corruption. Chadema stands alone in championing a federalist system

20

of government but all parties especially refer to streamlining the country’s mining and natural

resource industry. UDP is especially strong on land reform. Generally, all parties show a commitment

to the development of a strong economic and political base that is both self-sustaining and responsive

to the needs of the majority of the country’s people, particularly the poor and marginalized groups.

Opinion Surveys

Most parties indicate the use of both party specific and public domain opinion survey resources for

policy formulation. These include research findings and publications from REDET for which payment

is not required for party related activities. Some parties also carry out internal polls within their

membership, but Chadema for instance does not.

Policy Implementation

Theoretically, the national party leadership is answerable to its membership through the national

delegates’ conference. Other party leadership levels are accountable at their respective levels to the

party organs under the supervision of immediate higher organs.

All parties noted that they were required to operate within these approved structures of accountability.

Subsequently, any leaders or members who are in violation of party decisions or rules were subject to

disciplinary proceedings involving ethics or advisory boards or committees at all levels of the party

structures.

3.3.2. Membership and recruitment

CCM and Chadema indicated that they maintained membership registers at the branch level, while for

UDP, its membership records are maintained by the secretary general and the regional, district and

branch secretaries. For all parties, countrywide reports on membership were submitted to the party

head offices at the national level.

There were, however, difficulties in quoting actual numbers because the figures were continually

fluctuating. UDP and TLP for instance could not give an estimate of its membership figures, though

an earlier report gave the TLP membership estimates at no less than one million in 2005 (Shayo, R.

2006:36).

Chadema gave its membership estimates at December 2006 at about 850,000 on the Mainland and in

Zanzibar representing an accelerated increase between 2004 and 2006. This included a membership

drive during which no fewer than half a million new members were recruited during 2004 in

preparation for the expected election in October 2005 (Shayo, 2005).

CCM gave its membership strength as having risen from just under three million in 2003 to 3.8

million in 2007, an increase of about 30 percent. Opposition parties however complained that CCM

had used its access to state resources and administrative structures for more than 40 years to swell its

membership ranks. Further concerns were raised regarding the ruling party’s ability to pay its officials

and staff much higher salaries compared to the opposition parties.

21

Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM)

The rights and obligations of CCM membership as outlined in the party constitution includes full

participation in all party activities, to express their views at party meetings, to elect or be elected for

relevant party leadership positions and right of defence if accused of breach of party regulations.

Members may criticise the party and present their views at higher levels if they are not satisfied. They

are also entitled to meet any of the party’s leaders if they follow procedures outlined.

An annual membership fee of TSh 1,200 is levied upon membership and the NEC makes periodic

reviews on the membership fee. Eligibility for party membership is upon attainment of 18 years of

age. Members are expected to be employed or a peasant (farmer) and subscribe to the party’s

constitution and demonstrate a spirit of mutual respect, cooperation and exemplary conduct. In the

party spirit of socialism, they must be hard working and ready to advocate the party’s ideology.

CHADEMA

Membership is by admission by branch leaders. Criteria for membership include being 18 years of age

and above, agreement with party philosophy, ideology and objectives as outlined in the party

constitution, fulfilment of membership duties and obligations. Members are expected to pay fixed

amounts in membership and annual fees but the exact amounts were not disclosed.

Disciplinary action against members is carried out during party meetings through the organs at

different branch levels. The right to self-defence and a hearing is exercised before any disciplinary

measures are taken. There is a council of elders at the national level to arbitrate on disputes within the

party and the party national congress is the final disciplinary authority.

Civic United Front (CUF)

A person who wishes to join the party has to fill a membership application form and pay an admission

fee of TSh.100. The party branch council is responsible for admission or non-admission to the

applicant. Members have voting rights during party meetings as well as rights to contest in election

within and outside the party. They have the obligation to enhance the capacity and capability of the

party. Additionally, they are expected to adhere to party rules and regulations as per the party’s

constitution.

In terms of involvement in party activities and programmes, they are encouraged to work as

volunteers for the sake of building the party as well as being responsible for safeguarding the interest

of the party. On disciplinary matters, the final decision is taken by the party Branch Congress for

members who breach party rules. In other cases, the National Congress which is the highest decision

making body can take disciplinary action on a member who breaches party rules.

The Liberal Party (TLP)

According to TLP sources, party activists and other influential party members are sometimes retained

to recruit new members. The agents are usually identified by branch and other party leaders and may

receive some financial support in the form of food and transport allowances. Party membership is

acquired upon payment of TSh200 for a membership card plus an annual membership fee of TSh600.

United Democratic Party (UDP)

Party membership is by admission through a party secretary at the relevant party level. Members

enjoy voting rights as well as rights to be elected to party positions. They are expected to follow and

adhere to party rules and disciplinary action is taken by the national executive committee.

22

3.3.3. Communication with party members

Party meetings and individual correspondence seems to be the most frequent form of communication

in the case of all parties except for CUF, which relies to a large extent on public rallies and party

meetings at various levels of organisation. CCM and CUF have party newspapers used for

communication with membership and to the wider public. All parties also employ the use of public

rallies. Some parties are slowly embracing new technology such as mobile telephony and internet for

communication; Chadema and CCM for instance have relatively good websites containing basic party

information. Chadema also cites the use of advertisements in the media and leaflets to reach out to the

wider public.

Conversely, members may communicate with the party during public meetings and rallies as well as

individual postal mail, petitions and by telephone. Members who have filed petitions against election

results communicate with party leaders in order to receive administrative guidance and support.

Although parties’ constitutions and election manifestos are widely available, most party leaders said

that few of their members read these regularly. Intra-party communication more often than not tends

to be one way as members rarely take the initiative to communicate with the party or party officials.

3.3.4. Training

All five parties surveyed offer some form of training to different categories of their membership

though this is sporadic, whenever the need arises and depending on availability of resources. All

categories of party membership receive or at least are earmarked to receive some training including

the leadership, campaign volunteers, aspiring candidates, MPs and party officials. Most parties did not

give specifics on the type of training offered. CCM cites political training for candidates for senior

positions in their parties or for public offices including training in lobbying, advocacy and social and

economic issues.

CUF provides a more detailed training schedule which includes campaign strategies for party activists.

Candidates are trained in election campaign strategies, electoral laws, constitutional matters, public

speaking techniques, media communication, permanent voters register, voting and vote counting,

announcement of results and appeals. Elected members are trained on various aspects of party

manifesto implementation, public relations, safeguarding victory and providing services to all

members of the constituency.

General party members are trained on party policy and guidelines, current issues and party networking

while training for party officials includes party strategic planning, implementation and evaluation of

party programmes, job descriptions and responsibilities, communication skills, election skills, media

coverage, and other office management skills. Some parties also give training on gender issues, good

governance, multiparty politics, democracy, peace and security. Civic education programmes for the

general public and for women’s and youth wings are sometimes offered in partnership with certain

NGOs and civil society organisations.

23

3.3.5. Membership recruitment between elections

While some parties are relatively dormant in the period between elections, some limited membership

recruitment exercises are undertaken mostly during public rallies. Some parties like Chadema cite the

use of mass media, leaflets, posters as well as door to door canvassing where possible in order to

recruit new members.

Except for the ruling CCM party, most opposition parties do not have the financial means to retain

party activist on a full time basis for party activities. Chadema and CUF indicate that party activists

are organised at the branch level in selected parts of the country to propagate party policies. Chadema

for instance has an outreach a programme called ‘Chadema ni Msingi’ which loosely translates as

Chadema is the foundation. The programme targets members at the grassroots level and party activist

are paid some limited allowances to carry out the programme. Similarly, CUF cites its party activists

as engaging in party activities such as networking, recruitment of new members, visiting party

branches, participation in training, workshops within and outside the party.

Despite these claims on the part of political parties, it is a general trend that given the enormous

financial and logistical limitations and in some cases apathy, most political parties do not engage

meaningfully in aggressive membership recruitment programmes between elections. This diminishes

their credibility when they start wooing voters at election time as they are perceived as only being

interested in attaining power without a steady and constant presence throughout the electoral cycle.

3.4. Electoral activity

3.4.1. Nomination of candidates for elections

The Processes for Selecting Party candidates for Presidential Elections

The following table summarises the qualifications for party candidates for the country’s presidency. It

is notable that they are virtually similar for all political parties.

Requirements Party

CCM

CUF

CHADEMA

TLP

UDM

Age above 40 years Y Y*

Y

Y Y

Belong to a certain ethnic group

N

N

N

N

N

Must hold position in party N N N N Y

Representative from a certain geographical area N N N N N

Active members of the party for at least five

years

Y Y Y Y Y

Academic qualifications Y* Y Y Y* Y

Leadership experience – at least five years

inside and outside the party

Y Y Y Y Y

Fulfil all legal requirements of the Registrar of

Parties

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Courtesy: EISA

24

* For the CUF, at least 45 years.

* For the CCM, this is a basic undergraduate degree.

* For the TLP, this is reading and writing fluency in both Swahili and English.

Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM)

The party National Congress which is the supreme organ of the party is vested with the authority to

elect the member who shall contest the position of the presidency of the republic. The process is

however lengthy and rigorous. First, eligible candidates must collect application forms from the party

secretary-general and are given up to two months to collect at least 25 signatures from ten regions in

country, including two regions in Zanzibar and Pemba, in order to establish their popularity across the

country. The NEC then convenes a confidential meeting to scrutinize the applicants before forwarding

its technical recommendations to the ethics committee, which then scrutinises the qualities of each

prospective candidate on the basis of prescribed parameters. The ethics committee then forwards a

shortlist of five names to the party’s central committee, which after further discussion forwarded its

three preferred names to the party’s national congress. This is composed of 1,500 members from all

26 districts in the country which then elects the presidential candidate by a simple majority.

Civic United Front (CUF)

Presidential aspirants collect and fill in prescribed party Presidential nomination forms stating their

profiles at their party branches. They are required to pay a prescribed fee of one million Tanzania

Shillings. The forms are then scrutinised by the District Governing Council and forward them to the

National Governing Council which makes final decision on the nomination. There after the candidates

nominated by the National Governing Council are selected by special National Congress by a simple

majority in a secret ballot. The successful candidate then recommends the name of his or her running

mate to the party’s central committee.

CHADEMA

This is perhaps the only party with the most democratic candidate selection process. It begins with

party primaries conducted at the zonal levels. Eligible candidates are given nomination forms by the

central committee. A timetable is then given for the collection and submission of the forms. The

selection process begins with voting at the local levels. Successful candidates are then forwarded

through the district level to the national executive committees and the central committee whose

recommendations are normally endorsed by the party’s national congress.

The Liberal Party (TLP) and United Democratic Party (UDP)

Aspiring candidates must meet the conditions laid down by the party and complete the required forms.

The central committee then discusses the qualities of each of the potential candidates and approves

the name of one candidate which is then ratified by the national delegates’ conference of congress.

This is a very top heavy approach and gives no room at all for membership participation in the

selection process.

Candidates Selection for other offices

Virtually all parties exhibit a heavily top-down approach towards candidate selection for local council

and parliamentary representation at all levels. Most parties require aspirants to collect nomination

forms at the district or constituency levels. Some require the candidate to collect a number of

signatures to indicate the level of local support before submitting the application to the District or

NEC. Applications are then vetted and eventual nomination approved by the by party central

committee in the case of MPs or district committee for civic candidates.

25

While all the party constitutions lay down procedures for candidate selection, more often than not,

these provisions are disregarded or manipulated to enable party leaders appoint preferred individuals.

Due to the inability of most opposition parties to fund election campaigns, parties tend to grant

nominations to individual with sufficient financial clout and local influence to finance their own

campaigns and to give the party some high profile prominence in the region.

Basic requirements for candidate selection are vary only slightly across most parties. Of the parties

sampled, none exhibits overt signs of discrimination along gender, religion, race or ethnic affiliation.

There are no specific quotas for youth or women in council or parliamentary candidate selection.

Candidates are selected more in individual merit and financial capability as well as local popularity

though this is difficult to ascertain. While presidential candidates are held up too much together

scrutiny; other candidates are expected to exhibit high moral probity, diligence, commitment and

adherence to party guidelines. None of the parties has a limit on the number of times a candidate can

hold elected office.

Reserved seats

In the absence of quotas for women and youth, most parties rely on the 75 special seats set aside for

women in the national assembly though nomination. Only CCM indicates that one third of seats are

reserved for women and youth, but did not elaborate further. Unlike Uganda, there are no reserved

seats for the youth in the Tanzania national assembly. Each party is allocated special seats for women

proportionate to the number of seats it gained in an election. The manner in which parties carry out

appointments for these seats have been a cause for controversy as party leaders often make arbitrary

appointments without reference to party organs or any form of democratic processes within the party.

CHADEMA

Candidates pick nomination forms and collect signatures to seek endorsement at the district levels. In

2005, the central committee compiled the list of nominees and sent it to the electoral commission. The

party is however changing its rules such that in 2010, selection will be done by the newly established

women’s council. This is a more democratic process and the central committee will only be

responsible for endorsement.

Civic United Front (CUF)

Aspirants for reserved seats fill in prescribed party nomination forms stating their profiles at their

party branches and pay prescribed fees. Election procedures then takes place as per party regulations

from branches to the national level.

United Democratic Party (UDP)

A list of candidates is compiled by the respective executive committee at the district or regional levels

and then sent to the national party headquarters. The party’s central committee then forwards

approved candidate names to the national electoral commission for appointment.

26

3.4.2. Election Campaigns

Party Manifesto and Campaign Strategy

All parties surveyed produced election manifestos for the 2005 general election. The processes of

developing these documents however vary greatly. According to CCM, its manifesto is prepared by

the office of the organising secretary and then approved by the NEC. The party did not respond on

how it develops its campaign strategy.

CUF and UDP have adopted a bottom-up approach where views and data are collected from members,

professional groups and other stakeholders through meetings, consultations and public rallies.

Information is then compiled at ward, district and constituency levels and sent to the national level for

further discussion and ratification by the NEC and final inclusion in the manifesto. The CUF

Campaign strategy and operational plan is prepared at the national level and there after approved by

the governing council or national congress.

Chadema’s manifesto is developed through compilation of the party’s detailed policy documents. The

party employs the use of focus groups to select priority issues and key policy areas. Findings from

these and other sources are presented to the governing council and the central committee for further

deliberation and the final document is adopted by the national congress. The party also developed a

campaign strategy for the 2005 elections that involved the creation of a campaign team run from the

‘war room’.

Candidates in all parties are expected to campaign for the party in addition to their own individual

campaigns. This means that other than campaigning in their own constituencies or local councils,

candidates are expected to team up with other party candidates to campaign in other regions of the

country as well.

Of the parties sampled, Chadema and CUF indicated that they did not recognize the results of the

2005 general elections as being free and fair in Zanzibar. Reasons given include allegations of vote

rigging, violence, intimidation and use of state machinery and resources. Both parties did release

statements outlining their position regarding the conduct and outcome of the elections. A number of

petitions have been filed to contest some parliamentary and local council results. There is increasingly

stiff competition among parties and allegations of corruption among MPs and councillors during the

campaign process are quite common.

All parties did participate in civic education exercises at different levels, but most were limited to

propagation of party positions, policies and programmes as opposed to non-partisan civic education

programmes. Materials used included campaign leaflets, radio and TV advertisements, workshops,

rallies and distribution of campaign posters and party manifesto.

27

3.5. External relations

3.5.1. International alliances

Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM)

As the ruling party, the CCM maintains strong contacts with other ruling parties especially in

neighbouring countries in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region. These are

mainly for exchange visits, training of party cadres and officials, exchange of ideas, campaign

strategies and materials. Such parties include South Africa’s ANC, Mozambique’s Frelimo,

Zimbabwe’s ZANU-PF and Angola’s MPLA, as well as the Communist Party in China. It also

maintains contacts with international organisations such as the NIMD and FES.

CHADEMA

The party maintains contacts with the International Democrat Union (IDU) and Democratic Union of

Africa (DUA) for the purposes of exchange programmes and training of party officials. It also has

bilateral contacts with political parties regionally and abroad mostly for training and exchange of

ideas. Some of the parties include the opposition Democratic Party (DP) and Forum for Democratic

Change (FDC) parties in Uganda, the NPP in Ghana, the DP in Kenya, Renamo in Mozambique, the

Conservative Party of the United Kingdom, the Centre Party in Sweden, Kokomus in Finland, and the

UMP in Sri Lanka.

The Liberal Party (TLP)

The party cites ‘friends’ in the Scandinavian countries and in the United States, but these are not

specified. According to party sources, since 2002 the NIMD has provided support for civic education

and for capacity building training for its leaders. The National Democratic Institute (U.S.) and the

Foundation for Democracy in Africa have provided similar funding.

Civic United Front (CUF) and United Democratic Party (UDP)

This party has friendly relations with Seychelles Liberal party as well as contacts with the Liberal

Democratic Party in the United Kingdom. It is also affiliated with the Liberal International, and so

does UDP for training purposes as well as observer and advisory status in internal meetings. CUF did

not indicate the nature or purpose of these linkages.

3.5.2. National contacts

All parliamentary political parties have formed the Tanzania Centre for Democracy modelled after the

Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy to provide a common platform and forum for

discussion on matters of common interest. Some of the issues discussed include improvement of

electoral laws and processes, constitutional reform, streamlining of public funding criteria for political

parties and parliamentary cooperation.

Some key opposition parties such as CUF, CHADEMA, NCCR –Mageuzi and TLP have also formed

a loose alliance on certain common principles such as the fight against perceived grand corruption in

government and state corporations. They have also been pushing for reform in the country’s mining

sector which is reportedly skewed in favour of foreign mining companies.

The Political Parties Act prohibits the formation of coalitions between political parties. Parties can

however have the right to form alliances as long as they are not established as legal entities. Previous

28

attempts in the 2000 and 2005 elections have been made to form coalitions among the opposition to

field a single presidential candidate, but these attempts failed due to differences among political party

leaders to agree on a common platform.

3.5.3. Relations with Civil Society Organisation

The CCM constitution recognizes and mandates cooperation with many civil society organisations

which at the time were referred to as mass organisations. These include self-help groups and

community organisations from the village to district and national levels. With its relatively strong

financial position and access to state resources, CCM is able to forge strong networks of support with

these organisations.

Opposition parties on the other hand have limited linkages with CSO, especially grass-roots

organisations. Most of them cooperate more with middle-class and professional advocacy

organisations and groups in the cities and urban centres. Some such as CUF and UDP said that it had

no formal relations with any CSO or NGOs. However, TLP and Chadema indicated they have formal

relations with several NGOs and research organisations such as Redet, the Eastern and Southern

African Universities Research Programme (ESAURP), the Bunge Foundation, the Tanzania Gender

Networking Programme and the Media Women’s Association of Tanzania. It was apparent that

Chadema had the strongest linkages with NGOs and CSOs in such areas as civic education and

debates on the state of democracy in Tanzania. Most parties however do not consult with the general

public or other organisations on a regular basis.

3.5.4. Media outlets

Tanzania has undergone rapid development especially of broadcast media since the advent of

liberalization and multiparty democracy in the early 1990’s. Radio is still the most dominant form of

mass communication, though television is rapidly taking a fair share in urban areas. The print media is

equally diverse with over a hundred privately owned newspapers. In terms of ownership, the

government controls two television and three radio stations on the Mainland and in Zanzibar. There

are at least five privately operated television networks and almost twice as much private radio stations,

some of which carry news broadcasts from international broadcasters such as the BBC, VOA and

Deutschewelle.

At the time of writing, no opposition party owns a television network, but a few parties own or have

newspapers affiliated to them. These include the daily Tanzania Daima, which is owned by the

chairman of Chadema. There are two weekly papers; Fahamu owned by CUF and Shaba, owned by

the TLP. According to the country’s constitution, political parties have equal access to the media, with

free airtime on public television and radio, and free space in government-owned newspapers. In

practice, the ruling party gets disproportionately large coverage in both print and electronic media, as

there is little distinction between government and party programmes and functions. This has been a

major sticking point for opposition criticism of the ruling party regarding unfair competition and

advantage in the political process.

29

3.6. Party funding

The Political Parties Act of 1992 provides for public funding of political parties through subventions

from the government. Funds are allocated proportionately depending according to three criteria: the

total number of votes a party gets in the presidential election, the number of seats occupied in

parliament and the number of local council seats held by a party. This formula has generated a lot of

debate and calls for review for allegedly discriminating against non-parliamentary political parties and

especially rewarding the ruling party which gets the lions share yet it already has access to a wide

revenue base due to all the property it amassed and retained from the single party era.

Other sources of party funding contained in the Act include membership fees, voluntary contributions,

proceeds from any investment or project undertaken in which the party has an interest as well as

donations and grants from any other sources. Almost all political parties are reluctant to reveal the

exact sources of funding and assets held as well as exact figures. Only the CCM has significant assets

in the form of businesses or buildings. The opposition parties mostly own buildings housing party

offices at the national level and some vehicles. Chadema for instance only cites ownership of

buildings and land at the national level, mainly for party use but not for revenue generation. The TLP

noted, for example, that it owns two cars at its head office and a car in each of two regions, as well as

30 motorcycles and 231 bicycles (one for each constituency).

3.6.1. Campaign Finance

There are no spending limits for party primaries and election campaigns since most parties do not

provide funding for their candidates and when they do, this is only token assistance and not sufficient

to meet the costs of the campaigns. Likewise, candidates are not expected to contribute any monies to

the party for campaigns since they have to foot their own campaign bills.

Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM)

The party has no spending limits and candidates are not required to contribute any funds to the party

except for voluntary donations. Decisions on campaign funding and specific amounts to be spent for

each election are made by the national executive committee. Candidates are not expected to raise any

funds for the party and local council election candidates are expected to meet their own campaign

costs.

The party did not give information on the total income earned or the amount of funding if any given

to the party youth and women wings. This is because the questionnaire respondent did not have

access to party financial records. No indication of the party’s main sources of income was given

either, except that income is mostly generated from rent proceeds from buildings owned by the party.

No response was given on the publishing of party financial records or campaign funding.

CHADEMA

The bulk of party funding goes to the presidential campaign. Some funding is allocated to certain

parliamentary candidates based on agreed criteria, but there is no automatic funding and most

parliamentary and all local council candidates have to meet their own campaign costs. All decisions

on campaign finance are made by the central committee and endorsed by the national congress.

According to party sources, the total income for 2005 was Tsh. 700 million and TShs 800 million for

2006. There is no separate funding for women and youth wings. Their activities are allocated funding

30

as part of core party programmes. The party has however made provisions to establish semi-

autonomous women and youth councils that will have their own budget and funding.

The party does not give its sources of income, but lists some of its assets as including non-income

generating buildings at the national level and land utilized for party use. No specifications are given

either for the main party expenditures, but in the preceding year, the party cites publicity and training

as having taken the bulk of its expenditure apart from party administration.

The Liberal Party (TLP)

The party’s NEC discusses campaign-funding requirements and allocates amounts according to party

strength in the various areas and the quality of its candidates. Larger amounts go to areas where the

competition is stiffer. Presidential candidates receive more than aspirant MPs. The exact amounts

depend on the money available at the time of the election. Like other parties, candidates are expected

to raise their own campaign funds and expenditure is without reference to the party.

Civic United Front (CUF)

Candidates for both parliamentary and local council elections are expected to fund their own

campaigns. In the 2005 elections, parliamentary candidates received between TShs. 250,000 to one

million depending on how strong the party network was within the constituency and possibility to win.

For this, funding is distributed between both union and Zanzibar presidential elections and budgeting

decisions are made by governing council. For the year 2005 and 2006, CUF gives its income as

standing at about Tshs. 1.829 billion and 1.276 billion respectively. The budget for both women and

youth wings totals about Tshs. 20 million. They do not have their own sources of income. Unlike

CCM, the party wings don’t have their own sources of income and rely solely on direct support from

the party. CUF was the only party that provided a detailed breakdown of its sources of funding as

indicated in the table below:

In last non

election year

(2006)

Amount as % of

total party

income

In the last

election year

(2005)

Amount as % of

total party

income

Public funding

from the state

Tshs. 960 million 75.2% Tshs.1.6 Billion 87.5%%

Membership fee Tshs. 30 million 2.3% Tshs. 40 million 2.2%

Income from

fundraising

activities and

events

Tshs. 10 million 0.8% Tshs. 15million 0.8%

Individual

donations

Tshs. 40 million 3.1% Tshs. 60 million 3.2%

Trade union

donations

NIL 0 0 0

Donations from

associations (List

principle donors)

IMD Tshs 15.7m

Liberal Inter.

FNF Tshs. 16.4m

TACAIDS Tshs

4.9million

EAURP Tshs.

8.9million

1.2%

NIL

1.3%

0.4%

0.7%

Tshs. 66.9 million

Tshs. 93.9 million

0

Tshs. 7.2 million

NIL

NIL

3.6%

5.1%

0

0.04%

NIL

NIL

Donation from

business (List

principal donors)

NIL

CUF Funding sources in Tanzania Shillings

31

3.6.2. Fundraising strategies

This is an area of significant weakness among all political parties except for CCM. This is attributable

to the weak economic base from which the parties could source funding. Tanzania is one of the

poorest countries in Africa. Party members and general public do not have the economic strength to

support their parties of choice financially through membership fees and other donations. Nomination

fees by party candidates provide a minor boost to the parties at election time but this is hardly

sufficient to even meet the costs for organising an effective election campaign.

Secondly, the parties themselves have relatively weak and constantly shifting membership base

coupled with limited structural reach across the country. The organizational and manpower capacity of

the parties to run and manage effective fund raising activities is also limited. Virtually all parties

sampled therefore did not elaborate on their fundraising strategies.

All parties indicated that their main expenditure goes to core party administration such as salaries,

transport, and research and meetings. Other spending priorities include publicity and propaganda.

Except for CUF, the other parties did not give exact figures or percentage breakdown for these various

expenditure items. According to the Political Parties Act, all parties are required by law to have their

expenditure audited and submitted to the office of registrar of political parties. Within the party,

audited annual reports are expected to be presented to the delegates’ congresses and available for

public scrutiny.

Only Chadema has declared its campaign expenditure for 2005 publicly although the law does not

make this mandatory. It is also the only party that has so far prepared regular financial reports at all

levels, submitted audited reports to its central committee and council for discussion and approval, and

sent them to the Registrar of Political Parties. CUF indicated that no regular financial reports were

prepared but that, some audited reports were sent to the Registrar of Political Parties. The TLP

respondent also indicated that no regular reports were prepared or made public, but that some audited

reports were discussed by its NEC and forwarded to the Registrar of Parties. This information could

not however be verified.

4. Conclusions and recommendations

The democratisation process in Tanzania presents contradictory elements emblematic of many

transitional African democracies. On the surface, democracy may appear to be thriving with a

multiparty system in place, regular elections, pluralist legislation enacted and institutions to safeguard

democracy and basic human rights created. Despite this, the substance and essence of a pluralist

political system that opens up the space for optimum citizens’ participation and realisation of their

aspirations is however doubtful. Without significant reform of the underlying institutional structure,

the democratic gains made in the last decade may falter as has been observed elsewhere in Africa

(Manning, 2006; McMahon, 2004).

The overwhelming dominance of the CCM and the relatively poor performance of the opposition in

past elections may be interpreted as a sign of the ruling party’s popularity and citizens’ satisfaction

with its leadership and governance programme. It may also be symptomatic of a serious flaw in the

underlying democratic structure. Observations and data available from this research indicate that there

are issues both external and internal to political parties that need to be addressed in order to further

32

consolidate gains made in the democratisation process and to enhance the strength of political parties

(Nordlund & Salih, 2007).

The legal and constitutional framework that allows for free and fair competition between the ruling

party and the opposition needs to be expanded. The Political Parties Act of 1992 for instance needs to

be reviewed to streamline the criteria for public funding that still greatly benefits the ruling party to

the disadvantage of the opposition. Without this, the dominance of CCM will render the dominant

party system illegitimate among a wider electorate and likely result in widespread political

disaffection (Bratton & Van de Walle, 1994; Carothers, 2006).

Deliberate and determined efforts should be made towards a clear separation between the ruling party

and the state. The strong legacy of the socialist party state still permeates the political environment in

the country and does compromise effective institutionalisation of the democratic process. The

apparent use of state resources or official positions to enhance party interests should be curtailed

significantly I order to increase confidence in the government and the democratisation process.

Electoral laws need to be reviewed with special reference to the issuance of permits for public rallies

and the role of the police force and other arms of the state in interfering or otherwise limiting

fundamental freedoms of peaceful assembly, association and expression. The capacity of the National

Electoral Commission needs to be expanded to ensure a robust and continuous civic education

programme, the constant improvement of the permanent voters register. This can be achieved through

the recruitment and training of additional personnel and the establishment of offices at regional and

district levels in order to reduce reliance on state appointed agents which raises doubt regarding the

impartiality and credibility of the commission.

Laws governing media access should be streamlined further and existing legislation should be

implemented in good faith to ensure that all parties have equal, fair and unhindered access. An agency

can be created or mandated to monitor the implementation of already existing provisions so as to

ensure a level playing field for free and fair political competition.

The issue of presidential powers in the appointment of offers for the offices of Registrar of Political

Parties, the national electoral commission and the commission for human rights needs to be reviewed.

This may be amended to include some form of consultation in order to enhance the credibility and

independence of these institutions. Proposals on political parties appointing representatives to such

institutions may need further scrutiny so as not to substitute single party dominance with unhealthy

multiple competition that nay be counterproductive to effective institutional functioning.

There needs to be more coordination between the offices of the National Electoral Commission, the

Registrar of Political Parties and such organisations as the Tanzania Centre for Democracy and

political parties. This is necessary in order to avoid duplication or conflict in allocation of functions

and responsibilities and instead harmonise ideas, proposals and programmes such as civic education,

legal reforms and resource allocation in order to better enhance the democratisation processes.

Almost all political parties sampled have drawn up strategic plans outlining key structural, policy and

programmatic areas that need particular attention. Party leadership is one of the key issues identified.

Party leaders play a significant role in determining the overall policy direction, public perceptions and

performance of political parties. Parties should therefore develop transparent and competitive

structures and processes for the election of strong, credible and visionary leaders who have the

33

capacity to galvanize support, mobilise the party rank and file, expand the party base and provide a

credible and alternative vision capturing the aspirations of a wide section of the population.

In order to achieve this, parties need to develop more transparent, accountable and representative

decision making and leadership selection processes by incorporating a bottoms-up approach,

increasing participation of all sections of society such as women and youth as well as creating strong

linkages with other interest groups within the professional class and civil society. Similarly, more

financial and capacity support building support should be provided for these groups within the parties.

Most political parties have weak internal structures and core staff are lacking in requisite capacity in

terms of skills, knowledge, experience and in some cased commitment to the party. Parties need to

develop capacity building programmes for party personnel. Most parties need to restructure, overhaul

or radically improve their internal structures or operational techniques in order to maximise of

professionalism, efficiency and effectiveness. The achievement of the foregoing in part depends on the

party’s capacity to increase its revenue base and generate sufficient funds to carry out the desired

changes. This is a cyclical and self-reinforcing process where success in restructuring and capacity

building will lead to higher revenue collection and this in turn leads to stronger financial capacity to

improve on changes already underway.

In order to increase their revenue sources as well as overall performance in election contests, parties

need to expand their membership base and strengthen party loyalty within its core supporters and

membership. This means that the party should strengthen intra-party communication strategies with its

membership and support base and be more sensitive and responsive to the aspirations of the wiser

public by coming up with sound policy programmes that will appeal to the electorate.

External assistance for such parties should focus on studying and identifying the unique socio-

economic factors prevailing in the country and variables that impact on the effectiveness of political

parties. Engagement in constructive dialogue aimed at identifying areas of common interest and party

specific intervention points is of the essence. Each party has its own unique internal challenges and

these should be identified and adequate intervention mechanisms be developed.

Such key areas as leadership selection and capacity building continue to be relevancy. These serve to

improve both external and internal credibility and institutional strengthening of the parties.

Programmes aimed at improving the technical skills and basic operational infrastructure of political

parties are still inadequate. Effective cooperative mechanisms need to be developed with a view to

empowering parties to not only engage meaningfully as viable and self-sustaining institutions that can

convey and represent the wishes of the electorate towards increased and meaningful participation in

decision making, participatory governance and seeking solutions to their developmental challenges.

References

Baregu, M., Mushi, S. S., & Mukandala, R. S. (2001). Tanzania’s political culture: A baseline survey.

Dar es Salaam: University of Dar es Salaam.

Bratton, M. (1994). Civil society and political transition in Africa. Institute for Development

Research.

Bratton, M., & Van de Walle, N. (1994). Neopatrimonial regimes and political transitions in Africa.

34

World Politics, 453–489.

Carothers, T. (2006). Confronting the weakest link: Aiding political parties in new democracies.

Washington D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Chama cha Mapinduzi. (2005, May). The constitution of Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM). National

Printing Co.

Chege, M., Nordlund, P., & Rukambe, J. (2007). Political parties in East Africa: Diversity in political

party systems. International IDEA.

Kaiser, P. J., & Okumu, F. W. (2004). Democratic Transitions in East Africa. Gower Publishing, Ltd.

Makinda, S. M. (2003). Reclaiming Democracy for Africa: Alarming Signs of Post-Democratic

Governance. In Conference Paper.

Maliyamkono, T. L., & Kanyongolo, F. E. (2003). When Political Parties Clash: Case Studies from

Malawi and Tanzania. Dar es Salaam: TEMA Books.

Manning, C. (2006). Assessing African party systems after the third wave. SAGE Public

Administration Abstracts, 33(1).

McMahon, E. R. (2004). Catching the ‘Third Wave’ of Democratization?: Debating Political Party

Effectiveness in Africa Since 1980. African and Asian Studies, 3(3–4), 295–320.

Mushi, S. (2001). Development and democratisation in Tanzania: a study of rural grassroots politics.

Fountain Publishers.

Mushi, S. S., Rubagumya, C. M., & Mukandala, R. S. (2004). People’s Representatives: Theory and

Practice of Parliamentary Democracy in Tanzania. Kampala: Fountain Publishers.

NEC. (2005). A Handbook of Tanzania Electoral Laws and Regulations 2005. National Electoral

Commission (NEC).

Nordlund, P., & Salih, M. M. A. (2007). Political Parties in Africa: Challenges for Sustained

Multiparty Democracy. Stockholm: IDEA. Retrieved from

http://www.idea.int/publications/catalogue/political-parties-africa-challenges-sustained-

multiparty-democracy

Nyirabu, M. (2002). The multiparty reform process in Tanzania: The dominance of the ruling party.

African Journal of Political Science, 7(2), 99–112.

Salih, M. A. R. M. (2003). African political parties: Evolution, institutionalism and governance. Pluto

Press.

Shayo, R. (2005). Parties and Political Development in Tanzania. DANIDA.

TEMCO. (2006). Report of the 2005 elections in Tanzania. Dar es Salaam: Tanzania Election

Monitoring Committee (TEMCO).

Temwende, O. K. (2004). Tanzania: a political and historical overview. Dar es Salaam: Friedrich-

Ebert-Stiftung (FES).

United Republic of Tanzania. (1998, April 30). The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania

of 1977 (1997 Edition). The United Republic of Tanzania.

World Bank. (2007). Enterprise surveys Tanzania: country profile 2006 (No. 45306) (pp. 1–15).

Washington D.C.: The World Bank.

Yahya-Othman, S., Mushi, S. S., & Mukandala, R. S. (2004). Democracy and Social Transformation

in East Africa. Dar es Salaam: Research and Education for Democracy in Tanzania.