Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) is the ruling party in Tanzania and the longest reigning party in Africa.
It was created on 5th February 1977 under the able leadership of Julius Nyerere.
During this period, there was a revolution which saw the merger of
Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) and Tanzania African National Union (TANU) to
form CCM or “Party of The Revolution” in English.
These two antecedent parties had a strong foundation in anticolonial nationalist movement.
With time, CCM was able to attain the objective of the movement,
thereby enforcing the legitimacy of the party. It promised security and
equality among the members. Nyerere believed that multiparty
was divisive in the African context.
He was also of the view that democracy could only prevail under the
one-party system as there was no room for differences when seeking
political office. Better still, having one party allowed
consensus building and offered an effective way of conflict resolution.
Nyerere supported his position by arguing that by the overwhelming
support of TANU was a clear sign that the opposition had a negligible
chance of winning an election. To ensure people didn’t divide along
regional and ethnic lines, he made `Kiswahili’ the natural language.
After a few years, CCM grew into predominant machinery with weighty
organizational structure. It was the only legal political party before
the constitution was amended in 1992.
Tanzania CCM Supporters Celebrate Election Victory in 2015
The social and ideological basis of the CCM
Chama cha Mapinduzi was formed to embody the socialist principles of Ujamaa.
Cooperation among the African States, self-reliance, and development
of economic activity, especially in the rural areas. This party also
tried to put
emphasis on agriculture to raise the living standards of citizens in
Tanzania. To pass the message across, the party flagged itself
symbolically with a hammer and a hoe.
In the 1980s, Chama Cha Mapinduzi slowly transformed into
a pro-business party where it was divided into branches, districts and
then into regions. Julius Nyerere believed in freedom of choice and
individual rights were protected within the one-party state. However, a
national executive committee was formed to keep the party in order.
Over the years, CCM has remained focused on increasing productivity to boost the country’s revenue.
Secondly, it has embraced new technology while trying to expand both local and international
markets.
Thirdly, it has strengthened the private sector to sharpen the provision of social services, security, and infrastructure.
CCM also supports projects for the common man and advocates for peaceful co-existence with neighbors.
Within the international arena, the party has tried to enhance foreign policies with its main focus being on economic diplomacy.
What happened to CCM after Tanzania became a multi-party state?
After the constitution was amended in 1992, other parties started to
complain of the harassment by CCM activists. This led to some kind of
division between the ruling party and the opposition. Many people were
of the view that these small parties come to sabotage all the
efforts Nyerere had put in place of uniting one country because they
represented ethnic, regional, and religious groups.
Electoral performance
Since 1992, CCM has dominated the politics of Tanzania by winning all
the past five general elections. It won both presidential and
legislative elections in 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010. In 1994, a
by-election was held where Chama cha Mapinduzi won by a landslide.
In 1995 general election, CCM emerged the winner with 26 seats out of
50 in the national assembly. The opposition leaders accused CCM of
voter bribery. Citing fraud in the election, the other parties boycotted
the house and refused to conduct the business in parliament.
Thankfully, the Commonwealth secretary-general reconciled the winning party led by Benjamin Mpaka with the other parties.
In October 2000, the second multi-party elections were held in
Tanzania where Benjamin Mpaka of CCM defeated his three main rivals by
more than 71%. However, the election was marred by irregularities which
led to violence claiming 23 lives. In 2001, CCM signed a
coalition agreement with other parties to start a commission of inquiry
to investigate the deaths.
In 2005, Jakaya Kikwete garnered more than 80% of the total votes
cast. Out of the 232 seats in the national assembly, CCM won 206 seats.
This was a major test of the reconciliation agreement. In 2010, Jakaya
was re-elected and got 62% of the votes cast. During the same
period, Chama Cha Mapinduzi got the majority of the parliamentary seats
(186 out of 239).
In 2015, Kikwete did not appoint a successor, so Tanzanians had to
bring a new blood into the leadership by electing John Magufuli who is
the current chairman of CCM party.
He managed to garner 58.4% of the total votes cast. According to
political scientists, many people are dissatisfied with the current
leadership of Magufuli including the party members of CCM. This could
mean we may see a new party taking over the leadership in the next
coming general election.
Chama Cha Mapinduzi Students
The CCM leadership structure
Since CCM was formed, it has had four chairmen, where each was the
president of the Republic of Tanzania. From 1977 to 1990, Julius Nyerere
held this position. During this time, Tanzania was a one-party state
with its central focus on economic development.
After that, Ali Hassan Mwinyi took over from 1990 to 1995. During his
reign, the country made several economic and social reforms. For
instance, it adopted the multi-party democracy which led to the
formation of eleven new political parties. Next, Benjamin Mpaka became
the chairman for 10 years (from 1996-2006). From 2006, the position is
being held by the current president.
In 1992, Chama Cha Mapinduzi started making new changes to
accommodate the changing environment. In December the same year,
the party formed a major landmark when it formed its congress. The most
notable change was the granting of autonomy change to what was known as
`CCM faction’.
This saw the creation of CCM vice presidency and a secretariat. It
gave the party a solid basis to act on any matters about the union. At
the same time, CCM devised constitutional means to address the
opposition. This explains why CCM is still the ruling party.
Legacy
Chama Cha Mapinduzi has been around for the last four decades and has
had its fair share of challenges. It has put mechanisms in place to
ensure all the key organs are functioning properly. Since its inception,
it has adhered to the laid down constitutional formalities
and procedures.
Besides that, any party member who wants to get elected must
go through a rigorous and comprehensive process. Without a doubt, CCM
has exercised diligence, coherence, and discipline which has made
Tanzania one of the most politically stable nations in Africa.