CLAIM: One of the longest-reigning parties in Africa, CCM – or Chama Cha Mapinduzi – has governed Tanzania for over five decades.
SOURCE: ZimLive
VERDICT: Misleading
On April 13, 2025, ZimLive, an online media house, in an article headlined: ‘Tanzania’s main opposition party banned from election,’ claimed that Tanzania’s governing party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), has been in power for more than 50 years. Tanzania is due to hold general elections in October this year.
‘One of the longest-reigning parties in Africa, CCM – or Chama Cha Mapinduzi – has governed Tanzania for over five decades,’ reads the ZimLive story in paragraph 10.
However, earlier on in paragraph four of the story about Tanzania’s main opposition party, Chadema, being barred from participating in the election, days after its leader, Tundu Lissu, was charged with treason, the same publication says: ‘The CCM party, which has governed Tanzania since 1977, is expected to retain power following the latest developments.’
Paragraphs 4 and 10 of the story, therefore, contradict each other regarding the duration CCM has been governing the East African country, in that the period stretching from 1977 stated in the former translates into 48 years and not over five decades as mentioned in the latter.
To establish facts, we look at the history of Tanzania from Tanganyika’s independence from Britain in 1961, right up to the unification of Tanganyika and Zanzibar in 1964, and Chama Cha Mapinduzi in 1977.
Brief history of Tanganyika and Zanzibar
Founded in 1954 by Julius Nyerere, the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) was the leading nationalist political party in the then East African state of Tanganyika. It is the same political party that led Tanganyika into independence from Britain in 1961.
While Tanganyika won independence on 9 December 1961, and Zanzibar on 10 December 1963, the legitimacy of Zanzibar’s government which assumed power on independence day was highly questionable since the black African majority in the island nation were excluded from power by the Arab rulers; one of the factors which played a major role in igniting the Zanzibar revolution.
The unification of Tanganyika and Zanzibar
Tanzania was born after the amalgamation of two independent African states: Tanganyika and the Zanzibar Islands. In 1964 Tanganyika merged with Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, later renamed the United Republic of Tanzania. Julius Nyerere, TANU and Tanganyika leader, negotiated the unification with Abeid Karume of ASP in Zanzibar. Tanzania was thus formed on 26 April 1964. For six months, the new country was simply known as the Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
Political developments in Tanzania after the unification
The United Republic of Tanzania adopted an interim constitution on July 5, 1965, which established one-party political systems on the mainland of Tanzania and Zanzibar.
· TANU controlled the mainland while the Zanzibar Afro-Shirazi Party (ZASP) controlled Zanzibar.
· President Julius Nyerere dissolved the National Assembly on July 10, 1965.
· Legislative elections were held in Tanzania on September 21-26, 1965, and TANU won 101 out of 101 contested seats in the National Assembly.
· President Nyerere was approved for a five-year term in a plebiscite on September 30, 1965.
· Legislative elections were held in Tanzania on October 31, 1970, and TANU won 120 out of 120 seats in the National Assembly.
· President Julius Nyerere was re-elected without opposition to a third term on October 31, 1970.
· Abeid Karume, the first vice-president of the country, was assassinated by military personnel on April 7, 1972.
The formation of Chama Cha Mapinduzi
TANU and ZASP/ ASP merged to form the Revolutionary Party of Tanzania (Chama Cha Mapinduzi – CCM) on February 5, 1977. The Tanzania Centre for Democracy, confirms that CCM was formed in 1977 following the merger of TANU and the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) which were the sole operating parties in mainland Tanzania and the semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar, respectively.
Notwithstanding that the country was already a one-party state, Tanzania still went for elections in 1980 with CCM as the sole legal party. For the National Assembly election there were two candidates from the same party in each of the 106 constituencies, whilst the presidential election was effectively a referendum on CCM leader Julius Nyerere’s candidacy.
Conclusion
The claim: ‘One of the longest-reigning parties in Africa, CCM – or Chama Cha Mapinduzi – has governed Tanzania for over five decades,’ has been rated misleading in that it does not take into account the fact that TANU and the ZASP the main political parties in mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar which were previous separate states, merged to form the present day CCM. If the amalgamation factor is set aside, TANU which led Tanganyika through independence in 1961 and ASP which led the Zanzibar revolution in 1963 would have governed for 64 years and 62 years respectively. If one were to assume that TANU and ASP united when Tanzania was formed in 1964, the party would have now governed the country for 61 years. In conclusion, looking at the time the CCM was formed through a merger between TANU and ASP/ ZASP, on February 5, 1977, the correct position is that the party has governed Tanzania for 48 years and not over five decades as claimed by ZimLive.
