OPINION: It is a long road ahead before elections are about the people

CCM announced that it had nullified results of party primaries in all areas characterised with foul play in various forms. The party ordered new primaries be carried out in such areas.

CCM’s secretary general Bashiru Ally said the move to pick candidates based on their performance in the new round of voting ordered was not intended to flout party rules but based on time, it was impossible to go through all the required stages.

During a press conference he further said that Dar es Salaam had the most cases of foul play.

Because civic elections are conducted a year before the general election, the outcome of these polls has been used an indicator of what is in store for a political party come the general election.

Foul plays within internal processes of political parties in general and CCM in particular is nothing new every time there is an election around. Every round of internal voting has led to complaints from some of the would-be candidates that the playing field was uneven to their disadvantage.

All political parties struggle with their internal processes when it comes to picking their candidates during elections or when electing individuals for leadership positions within the party. As a rule, the higher the chances or winning, the heavier the stench of allegations of foul play. In some cases, the possibility of denting the preferred candidate means that his or her opponents are swept aside or their efforts stifled.

Transparency is a perennial issue. Those who feel cheated by internal party processes have some options at their disposal. Some decamp to other political tents to fulfil their political ambitions or dreams. Others make it their missions to sabotage the nominated candidate from within. Others sit tight with all their anger and disappointment, waiting for the perfect time to fulfil their political goals. For the party in power, the opportunities are many, including government positions. Others are lucky enough to get their complaints heard and the outcome overturned in their favor.

However, this time around, as bizarre as it sounds, these allegations of flouting party rules and impropriety are indicative of something else; that CCM members are once again confident of the place of their political party in the pecking order. At a previous event, Dr Ally mentioned the political atmosphere for CCM in Dar es Salaam saying it was difficult for a CCM member to pass through Kariakoo or other streets in Dar es Salaam without being booed. What he has termed as a “bad wind” in other past occasions has clearly passed. The fortunes have turned around for the better.

On a different scale, the reported cases of improprieties point to a political storm brewing come 2020 when the party holds primaries for presidential candidates in Zanzibar and the many contenders to be parliamentary candidates throughout the country. While CCM leadership has so far been fairly successful in taming the beast that is “early campaigning” especially with those who want to be picked as parliamentary candidates, and in the process keeping the current line-up of its parliamentarians somewhat focused in Dodoma, and are seen in their constituencies every time they have a chance to be there, it will be a whole different ball game when the lid is removed.

CCM’s leadership has been emphatic in stressing that money would not be the main factor for candidates come 2020, and in going after violations of party rules for civic polls this time around, it is trying to send a message to its members that it will not tolerate anything that dents the party’s chances at reforming and better positioning itself for the challenges of the future.

There are many who are watching these internal party processes and the measures taken with more than a passing interest. They are making sure they fully understand the political temperature and whether the measures taken significantly depart from previous routes.

To the party’s leadership, these efforts are commendable and it is a learning process as well, trying to see which measures work better before we, as a country, collectively lose our minds, as is the case every time we hold a general election.

It is a long road ahead.