TANU and 1958 polls
Nyerere (second left) with Zuberi Mtemvu (right). Mtemvu left Tanu to form his own party after he disagreed with Tanu over participating in the 1958 elections. PHOTOS |FILE
The colonial government introduced tripartite voting in the 1958/59 polls in which an eligible voter was supposed to vote for a European, an Asian and an African candidate for the same constituency. Failure to follow this guideline nullified the voter’s ballot.
The colonial government, under Governor Edward Twining, also put other more stringent conditions that, analysts say, were aimed at discoursing both Tanu and voters from participating in the elections. These include eligible voters to have a minimum annual income of 400 pounds, educated to the level of 12th grade (equivalent to Form Four currently). An eligible voter must have had specific employment. Tanu had to convene a special conference in Tabora from January 21 to 26 to deliberate on the election issue. The main agenda was whether Tanu should participate in the elections under those stringent, unfair conditions.
Two main camps emerged during the conference whose push and pull threatened the very survival of the party itself. One camp was that of moderates who wanted Tanu to participate in the elections.
And the conservatives who wanted Tanu boycott the elections.
Nyerere, who agreed with the moderates that Tanu should participate in the elections had to put extra efforts to convince delegates why participating in the elections was in Tanu and Tanganyika’s best interests.
