Intra-Party Democracy in Tanzania: Assessing Competitiveness of Party Leadership Selection

Abstract

Abstract This study assessed competitiveness in selecting party chairpersons in Tanzania and the factors that shape the competitiveness. Data were generated from interviews with 27 stakeholders, structured questionnaires administered to 60 party members and a content analysis of official party documents. The study revealed that the selections are generally not competitive when assessed against parameters such as incumbent success rate, number of candidates and vote share among them and role of party Conventions. Specifically, possibility to defeat incumbents is generally very low while the selections mostly feature one candidate who amasses almost all votes. To camouflage competition, leadership selections in CUF and CHADEMA occasionally feature more than one candidate while single candidacy remains a strongly established tradition in CCM. Yet, delegates to party Conventions seem to be highly influenced by sitting chairpersons in selecting their new leaders. The findings reveal how intra-party democratic deficit normally builds itself around power centers of the party thus calling for further studies on intra-party democracy to use the party leadership as their point of departure. Practically, relevant laws should be redefined while also strengthening their enforcement mechanisms to compel political parties to cherish democratic principles in their internal businesses.