on the backdrop of swelling numbers for CCM membership . What troubled him was that the party which had a disciplined recruitment process for new members and invested time and other resources to educate those who rose through its ranks on the ideology and the values of the movement no longer tied itself to such encumbrances .
As a result , in the early 1990s , wealthy individuals joined the party mainly to safeguard their own business interests by supporting certain candidates . This situation has filled the party with political entrepreneurs . However , this was the least controversial aspect of CCM ’ s drive for new members . In the multiparty era , the CCM became obsessed with numbers to the extent that crossing over from opposition parties came to be celebrated , gradually becoming a common feature of the party ’ s public rallies or other high-profile events . The list of those who defected from opposition parties is long . Some were either appointed to government positions or as parliamentary candidates without going through the party primaries .
The dangers are obvious . For one thing , it is impossible to defend or love what one does not know . The loyalty of newcomers that rose to the highest positions without undergoing a proper induction is questionable . For another , the advantages granted to some of these new members fuel resentments and lead to tensions among the rank-and-file members . As a result , during the party ’ s primaries of 2020 , the majority of those who had defected from opposition parties fared terribly with media reports pointing to statements such as ‘ CCM is pure green ’ ( CCM party colours are green and yellow ) from members in some constituencies explaining these defeats of the newcomers . This was an apparent jibe to these new members that they had no roots in CCM , and their defeats should serve as a reminder of that .
Intra-party rivalries
Overall , the CCM is a fairly disciplined party ; however , when it comes to elections in the era of multipartyism , there is little evidence of that . The outcomes of party primaries never fail to lead to political headaches and the ever-present threat of CCM ’ s split . As the CCM went in search of the first presidential candidate of the multiparty era in 1995 , Mwalimu Nyerere was invited to address a meeting of party leaders . During that meeting , he told them that people yearned for change , and if they won ’ t find it in the CCM , then they will look elsewhere . On a different occasion , he said that ‘ genuine ’ opposition will come from within the CCM .
There are many who moved to opposition parties , courtesy of the debacles of party primaries , and who pointed to those two quotes from Mwalimu Nyerere as the justification for their actions . Each election , the country draws closer to the fulfilment of Mwalimu ’ s ‘ political prophecy ’. The CCM has come to be a party that is at war with itself every time there are intra-party elections .
For instance , President Samia Suluhu Hassan , speaking at a function on Covid-19 funds , and responding to then parliament speaker Job Ndugai ’ s criticism of her government about the country ’ s debt ( which led to his eventual resignation ), said that since coming to office in March 2021 after the death of her predecessor , she has continued to encounter heavy political headwinds from within her own party ( i . e ., the CCM ). She claimed that Mr Ndugai ’ s criticism was nothing but “ 2025 fever ”.
She added that , since then , there are those who have constantly worked to undermine her government for reasons ranging from her being a woman to her ascension to the presidency , which disrupted some people ’ s political calculations about 2025 . The president also took issue with the language of some parliamentarians – most of whom come from her own party – for talking about a “ transition period ” even though the country ’ s constitution does not provide for the same .
This reference to 2025 is about the general election . Like many other African countries , Tanzania in general , and the CCM in particular , have come to be captive of this political ritual where the collective psyche is fixed on the next round of elections .
Tanzania is not the first country in the region to experience the death of an incumbent president .
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