by Phyllis Johnson – SANF 15 no 31
Tanzania’s main political party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), will choose its presidential candidate by mid-July to contest national elections set for 25 October 2015.
The process started in early June when 42 prospective candidates collected nomination papers, and 38 eventually submitted their forms for nomination.
Among the aspiring candidates are the vice president, prime minister, two former prime ministers, and 12 cabinet ministers. These include five candidates who are women, among them the Justice Minister, Asha-Rose Migiro, who is a former UN Deputy Secretary-General.
The party’s Central Committee will assess the list of candidates on 9 July and select five candidates to be presented to the National Executive Committee (NEC).
Those with criminal records or corrupt behaviour will be removed at the outset, and the selection process will also consider each candidate’s track record, education, profession and political outlook, including engagement and approach to party activities.
The NEC will meet on 10 July to reduce the list of five candidates to three. These three candidates will be presented to the party’s National Congress, which will consider this issue among its other business on 11 and 12 July.
By Monday, 13 July, Tanzanians will know who CCM has chosen as its candidate for President. By well-established tradition, the party will unite around the selected candidate and prepare for the election campaign under the guidance of the secretary-general, Abdulrahman Kinana, who has been active in initiating projects throughout the country during his term.
Also by established tradition, the incumbent President remains the party leader for a short period, although in practice handing over after a few months.
The Central Committee will also endorse the party’s election manifesto on 10 July and name the candidate for the Zanzibar presidential seat. That is likely to be the incumbent, Ali Mohamed Shein, who has served for one five-year term.
The United Republic of Tanzania includes the semi-autonomous government of Zanzibar, which has a President and Parliament but is also represented in the Union Parliament.
President Jakaya Kikwete is expected to address the national Parliament (the Bunge) in the capital, Dodoma, before dissolving Parliament in preparation for the election campaign, which begins at the end of August.
Party primary elections to choose candidates for both the Zanzibar parliament and the Union parliament will take place at the beginning of August.
Among the names most mentioned as presidential contenders are the senior government leaders including Vice-President Mohamed Bilal, Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda, and Foreign Minister Bernard Membe, as well as Justice Minister Migiro. But there could be one or two surprises.
Another popular contender is a former prime minister, Edward Lowassa, who was dropped by Kikwete during his first term amid allegations of corruption.
Foreign minister Membe started his campaign for the post some time ago and may consider that he has an inside track as the previous two presidents Mkapa and Kikwete were serving foreign ministers before becoming president. Migiro is also a former foreign minister.
This is the first presidential selection to take place without the direct influence of the founding father and first president of the country, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, who died in 1999.
He endorsed the candidacy of Benjamin Mkapa in 1995, and advised Jakaya Kikwete to wait for the next round, which he did. Mkapa was elected in a landslide and served as president for two terms, and Kikwete also drew 80 percent of the votes when he was first elected in 2005.
The CCM candidate will contest the national election in October against several opposition party candidates unless they can agree to choose one among them which, at this stage, seems unlikely.
Kikwete said earlier this year that he is ready to step down. Speaking at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars in Washington DC in April, he said that leading his country is a “stressful and thankless” job.
Kikwete is credited with strengthening the economic turnaround initiated by his predecessor, and he leaves an economic growth rate of seven percent for his country of 50 million people, who still faces significant challenges of health and education, as well as access to energy and water resources.
Tanzania is a founding member of the African Union, as well as the East African Community, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), which have together established a Tripartite Free Trade Area covering 26 countries stretching from South Africa to Egypt. sardc.net
