February 5 - Chama Cha Mapinduzi Day in Tanzania

nPosted on February 5, 2020

Key points

nThe political party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) was formed on this date in 1977, and for a decade and a half, it was the only legal political party in the nation.
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nI always shudder when I hear that sort of thing – with only one political party being legal, the people have no true choice about who leads their nation and makes their laws, no choice about the guiding principles. It’s – a dictatorship, right?

But since 1992, other political parties have been allowed, but still CCM dominates the nation and wins the elections. From what I’ve read, there aren’t major accusations of repression or cheating to make that party win most elections.
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nApparently CCM has been evolving to be less pure socialism and more social democracy. I read that the first CCM leaders (therefore the first Tanzanian leaders) worked on making the people of the nation care less about their own ethnic identity and care more about their national identity. I gather that a sort of Pan-Africanism is what Tanzania was able to accomplish – solidarity and political cooperation, rather than fighting for power, between different ethnic groups.
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This is a symbol of Pan-Africanism.

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nTanzania is known for the beautiful Mount Kilimanjaro, the magnificent Serengeti and its wildlife, and the pristine beaches (including those of Zanzibar and on the shores of Lake Tanganyika):
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