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Why the CCM won't lose: the roots of single-party dominance in Tanzania
- DOI:
- 10.1080/02589001.2012.669566
pages 313-333
- Received: 16 Nov 2010
- Accepted: 19 Jul 2011
- Published online: 26 Apr 2012
Abstract
This paper provides an empirical investigation of the factors contributing to single-party dominance in Tanzania. Despite the fact that Tanzania has had a multi-party democracy since 1995, the party which governed during single-party rule, the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), has won the vast majority of seats in the National Assembly in the first four multi-party elections. In order to understand the CCM's grip on power, this article analyses the results of a survey conducted amongst subsistence farmers in Tanzania, which provides information on farmers’ livelihood conditions, access to media and political views, and hence provides insight into the preferences underlying voting behaviour. It discusses the dominant reasons for CCM support, as well as the characteristics of farmers who are more likely to support an opposition party. It concludes by discussing possible policy options for enhancing political competition in Tanzania.
Keywords
- single-party dominance,
- rural neglect,
- voting behaviour,
- Africa,
- Tanzania,
- economic and political liberalisation
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- Received: 16 Nov 2010
- Accepted: 19 Jul 2011
- Published online: 26 Apr 2012
Author affiliations
- a Department of Economics , University of Winnipeg , Canada
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