Tanzania Civic Polls: Is old wine in a new bottle?

The analysts also remarked that CCM’s 99 percent victory is not a matter of pride under the Reconciliation, Resilience, Reforms, and Rebuilding (4Rs) Philosophy which highlights democracy undermined by a weakened opposition.

They emphasised that both parties have lessons to learn ahead of the 2025 general election.

The 2019 local elections had similar results, with the ruling party securing more than 99 percent of the seats.

However, the opposition boycotted the 2019 local elections that saw 16,000 street and village leadership positions being voted for.

On Wednesday, November 27, this year, Tanzanians voted for local government leaders, results announced on Thursday by the  Minister of State in the President's Office-Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG), Mr Mohamed Mchengerwa.

In his announcement, Mr Mchengerwa disclosed that in village council elections, CCM won 229,075 out of 230,882 seats, equivalent to 99.31 percent.

 “For the position of village chairperson, elections were conducted for 12,271 out of the 12,280 available positions,” he said.

CCM secured 12,150 positions, equivalent to 99.01 percent, Chadema followed with 97 positions (0.79 percent) while ACT Wazalendo won 11 positions (0.09 percent), and CUF claimed 10 positions, equivalent to 0.08 percent.

NCCR Mageuzi, UMD, and ADC each won 1 position, equivalent 0.01 percent respectively.

However, during this year’s local government elections, shortfalls were raised by voters such as names not being listed alphabetically, delays in opening polling stations, and the withdrawals of some opposition candidates.

Speaking to The Citizen on Friday, November 29, 2024, the University of Dodoma (Udom) political and international relations assistant lecturer Justine Kajerero said, “I would say it’s an old wine in a new bottle because the reforms that were made are not reflected in the local elections. This indicates issues with the legal and institutional frameworks."

Mr Kajerero noted that various developments in the elections sent a clear message to both the ruling party and the opposition, and added that under the 4Rs philosophy, people could have expected more significant changes compared to previous elections.

"Despite the victory, CCM should neither feel proud nor relaxed because the opposition is a sleeping giant. As you can see, with all the resources at its disposal, the ruling party’s top leaders were actively campaigning, which shows that the victory was not easily secured," he emphasized.

Regarding the opposition, Mr Kajerero urged them to adopt a short-term strategy and focus on selecting candidates who are both appealing and broadly acceptable, emphasising the need for the opposition to move beyond focusing on national image and urban areas, suggesting they engage more actively at grassroots levels.

Additionally, he advised the opposition to address internal conflicts within their parties, saying that these divisions weaken their overall strength.

“To secure victory in the next elections, the opposition have to learn from past experiences. Despite the challenges, there are valuable lessons they can apply to improve their prospects,” he suggested.

Commenting on the elections at a press conference on Friday, November 29, ACT-Wazalendo leader Dorothy Semu refused to accept announced results, saying the entire election process was disrupted to the extent of undermining the people's power to choose the leaders of their choice.

She said her party is calling for all the election results to be annulled and instead new local government, village, and ward elections to be held after a new election law has been established and as well an Independent Electoral Commission has been formed.

“We will engage with responsible political parties and key civil society organisations to convene a meeting to develop a joint approach for resolving the fraud and corruption affecting the electoral management systems and how to safeguard democracy in the country,” she said.

On the other hand, the CCM secretary for ideology, publicity, and training, Mr Amos Makala, told the journalists on Friday, November 29, 2024, that the parties were well-prepared, stating that the elections were over and the opposition should focus on preparing for future elections.

Mr Makalla claimed that Tanzanians are satisfied with the successful implementation of the CCM's 2020/25 election manifesto, which has carried out development projects alongside addressing various issues, which is the reason people trust the party and believe it emerged victorious.

“The various projects being implemented are in the streets and wards, and we believe the successes achieved have built confidence among the people, encouraging them to continue trusting CCM,” he said.

“We have not made a mistake in the selection of candidates who carried the party's flag; this is also the secret to our victory because we conducted an assessment of the political situation in the villages and each district to allow the party to select the best candidates.

“We took this election very seriously, which is why our participation was significant at various levels, including preparations to mobilize the citizens. Let no one question CCM's victory, as you will witness that some parties had no preparations,” said Mr Makalla.

The Open University of Tanzania (OUT)’s Senior Lecturer on Political Science and Public Administration, Dr Revocatus Kabobe, also described the local government elections as “old wine in a new bottle,” reflecting a perception that, despite some cosmetic changes and reforms, the fundamental political dynamics remain unchanged.

“This metaphor highlights how the elections continue to exhibit familiar issues of political dominance, limited competition, the persistence of electoral manipulation, low voter turnout and apathy, limited electoral reforms, as well as the entire challenges to multiparty democracy,” he said.

Dr Kabobe added that despite some procedural and technological updates, the elections largely maintained the status quo, opposition challenges, and structural barriers to genuine political competition persisting.

These dynamics will likely shape the political landscape as the country approaches the 2025 General Election, raising questions about the pace and depth of democratic reforms in Tanzania.

“While CCM can take pride it should also reflect on the challenges highlighted during the process, addressing voter apathy, improving the fairness of the electoral process, and fostering a more inclusive democratic environment could ensure sustained legitimacy and public trust ahead of the 2025 General Election,” he insisted.