Screening of candidates for the 1980 General Election

Dar es Salaam. CCM’s permanent committee tasked party operations met in Dar es Salaam on September 2, 1980 for the objective of preparing agendas to be tabled before the Central Committee that was to meet on September 8 and 9.

Among key issues tabled before the Central Committee included names of parliamentary seat aspirants. The names had been vetted and recommended by the district and regional executive committees as well as by the party’s five wings.

The Central Committee met under Chairman Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and proposed the names of parliamentary seat contestants from 111 districts and 25 regions of Tanzania. It also proposed the names of parliamentary seat aspirants from the party’s five wings--the Union of Tanzania Workers (Juwata), Cooperatives, Parents, Youth and the Union of Tanzania Women (UWT).

The meeting also discussed and proposed names of parliamentary seat aspirants from the Zanzibar House of Representatives.

According to CCM’s procedure, of the total number of 32 Representatives from the Zanzibar House of Representatives, 22 were chosen from the House while 10 from outside the House, meaning each from every district of Zanzibar.

So, the meeting of the permanent committee tasked with CCM operations was the beginning of national process towards vetting names of parliamentary seat aspirants, that is, after the same had been done at the district and regional levels.

District executive committees held meetings to discuss the names of parliamentary seat contestants on August 23 to 25 while regional executive committees met on August 26.

As that was going on, the director of the Electoral Commission, Mr Elias Kazimoto, announced that its commission had pushed back campaigns by contestants for parliamentary seats from October 1 to October 13 as announced earlier.

In Zanzibar, the special committee of the CCM Central Committee halted all activities of the government in the Isles and on September 6 met in Dar es Salaam to propose three names of eligible presidential candidates for Zanzibar.

According to section 63(3) of the CCM Constitution, when any the General Election nears, the special committee of the Central Committee, which is mandated to oversee all the government activities on the part of Zanzibar, made initial nominations of persons eligible to contest for Zanzibar presidential election.

However, on September 12 the CCM Central Committee nominated Aboud Jumbe to seek reelection as president of Zanzibar and chairman of the Revolutionary Council and Vice President of the United Republic of Tanzania.

In the election, it was the first time for Zanzibar president to be elected through the ballot box since 1964 when the Zanzibar Revolution took place and the first time since Zanzibar created its own Constitution.

As the Central Committee of CCM was meeting in Dar es Salaam Region on September 12, it was already known that 6,882,448 Tanzanians had registered to vote.

The information was released by Electoral Commission Kazimoto. Earlier estimations had put the figures at around eight million voters.

The number of registered voters in 1980 was an increase of 1,309,893 registered voters compared to those who registered to vote in the October 1975 polls.

The increase was equivalent to 23.4 percent of 5,572,555.

Among the names picked by the Central Committee included Prime Minister Edward Moringe Sokoine and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Jackson Mvangila Makwetta. The duo had sailed through unopposed.

Sokoine sailed through unopposed to contest for the Monduli Parliamentary Seat while Makwetta sailed through unopposed to vie for the Njombe Parliamentary Seat.

In Dar es Salaam Region those who were okayed by the congress were Kitwana Selemani Kondo (hoe mark) versus Martha Michael Weja (house mark). In Kinondoni District, the names were those of Derek Noel Bryceson (hoe) against Ramadhani Mohamedi Kibugila (house).

In Temeke District: Lieutenant Colonel Ali Saidi Mchumo (hoe) against Masudi Ali Masudi (house). For the position of the national parliamentary seat for Dar es Salaam Region those who were approved were Kijakazi Salum Kyelula, Peter Sakia Macha and Peter Victor Sao.

For Arusha Region, those sanctioned were Ole Saibul Solomoni Alexander (house) against Hubert Hemed Mbaga (hoe). For Arumeru District they were Penieli Ole Saitabau (hoe) against Kivuyo Joel Solomoni (house).

Amri Dodo Ahmed (hoe) versus Mateo Tluway Qares (house) were sanctioned for Hanang District.

Two days later, on September 15 the party picked the names of 25 people from its five wings to vie for national parliamentary seats in the election.

They contested for 15 national parliamentary seats allocated for CCM’s wings including Youth, Cooperatives, Parents, Juwata and UWT.

The Parliament of the United Republic had 40 national seats as 25 seats were for regions while 15 for the wings of CCM. Due to the procedure, national parliamentarians were chosen from each region.

Those who were picked to vie for national parliamentary seats from UWT were Babro Cecilia Johanson, Getrude Ibengwe Mongela, Amina Saad Feruzi, Mwanamkuu Kombo Makame and Bernadetta Nemphombe Kunambi.

Those who were okayed to contest for parliamentary seats from the CCM Youth Wing were Venance Francis Ngula, Selemani Seif Hamad, Nicholas Alfred Kuhanga, Anna Sememba Makinda and Lieutenant Colonel Makame Rashid.

Those who were sanctioned from CCM’s Cooperative Wing were Ndaki Philip Ndaki, Nyambo Elia Mwazavila, Benjamin William Mkapa, Alfred Cyril Tandau and Mgeni Hassan Ally.

From CCM’s Parents Wing: Thabita Siwale, Gibson Mwaikambo, George Clement Kahama, Ali Haji Ali and Leader Stirling, and from CCM’s Juwata Wing were Elias Joas Mashasi, Hindu Bori Lilla, Crispin Tungaraza, Mboni Omar Cheka and Ismail Swaleh Ismail.

The party’s special congress started Thursday on September 25 in the City of Dar es Salaam. The congress that was held at the Diamond Jubilee Hall was the first for CCM.

The congress was tasked to nominate the name of the sole candidate to contest for presidency since the party was established on February 5, 1977.

Another agenda of the congress was to pick one member of CCM’s national executive committee from Kigoma Region, who would hold the position of Alhaji Tawakal Karago, who, in 1979, was expelled from the party membership due to disciplinary issues. Those who contested for the position of Alhaji Karago, which is being a member of the national executive committee of CCM (Kigoma) were Damian David Ruhinda, Peter Mayeye, Sheri Taki and Charles Rugiga.

However, among the three contestants, Damian Ruhinda emerged the victor, becoming a member of NEC from Kigoma Region.

During the special congress, Mwalimu Nyerere was nominated by the party to be the sole presidential candidate of the United Republic of Tanzania. What did he say after his nomination?