The two-day CCM special national congress held at Jakaya Kikwete Convention Center in Dodoma concluded on January 19, 2025, with President Samia Suluhu Hassan being selected as the party’s presidential candidate for the scheduled October 2025 general election. This move is unprecedented, as it marks the first time the party has nominated its presidential candidate in January; traditionally, this task has been done in June or July. Additionally, this is the first time the process for collecting presidential nomination forms was bypassed.

The move was not part of the original agenda but was initiated by members who called for Congress to nominate President Samia as the party’s candidate. This appeared to be a carefully planned process, beginning with pressure from members who were contributing to the government’s manifesto implementation report for both Zanzibar and Tanzania.

“I present my argument as follows: do not leave an enemy you can handle to God,” said Mtera MP Livingstone Lusinde while contributing to the implementation report. “I kindly request that you and your Vice Chair step aside briefly so that this general meeting can deliberate on serious matters because there is a gift we want to give you,” Lusinde continued.

In response, the chair of the meeting, President Samia, argued they couldn’t leave the room, as the rules did not allow it. She emphasized that the congress was an open meeting free for any member to contribute.

“We want to finish the task today. The task is for the national congress to issue a resolution that Samia be the CCM presidential candidate for the United Republic and Dr. Mwinyi be the presidential candidate for Zanzibar,” said Adam Kimbisa, Chairperson of CCM Dodoma, also emphasizing the issue.

While rumors of Samia’s nomination had circulated before the special national congress, the main discussion ahead of the congress was centered on who would be the next Vice Chairperson of the CCM, which was the main agenda of the meeting, with many speculating on various possibilities.

“We owe you nothing, except that we have an obligation to you. Many countries similar to ours have presidential candidates at least a year or two, before the election. I earnestly request that this meeting today conduct the nomination of presidential candidates: Samia Suluhu Hassan for the Union Government and Dr. Hussein Ally Mwinyi for Zanzibar, starting today,” said Machano Othman Said, a member of the House of Representatives from Zanzibar’s Mfenesini constituency, continued to solidify the argument.

Another influential CCM elder from Zanzibar, Mberwa Hamad Mberwa, Chair of CCM Kaskazini Pemba region, also contributed, cementing the same argument and showing a carefully organized initiative by CCM’s top figures.

“I, personally, along with the delegation from Kaskazini Pemba in Zanzibar, fully support the remarks made by our colleagues that Samia Suluhu Hassan should continue for another five years. From today, as we leave this hall, let us be clear that there is no other candidate,” Mberwa emphasized.

He continued: “Let us also continue to support our President of Zanzibar, our brother Dr. Hussein, so that he, too, continues for another five years. I see the discussion is over, because we all agree.”

The last contribution before the discussion drew to a close came from Ng’wasi Damas Kamani, a 27-year-old special seat member of parliament, Advocate of the High Court, and member of the CCM’s national congress from the Mwanza region.

“What specific language should CCM members, Tanzanians, or delegates of this meeting use to persuade the members of the National Executive Committee who, under Article 103, Sub-Article 12b, are required to present no more than three names of presidential candidates for this meeting to approve?” Ng’wasi Kamani inquired.

“We now urge our members of the National Executive Committee to fulfill their duties under Article 103, 12b. Let me remind the Committee members that submitting only one name does not violate the constitution, as the constitution requires no more than three names, and one name does not exceed the limit,” Ng’wasi continued.

The push by party supporters appeared to be a pre-emptive move by President Samia and her supporters, aiming to prevent any challenges from within CCM. There were concerns that some members might attempt to challenge President Samia inside the party.

While CCM regulations allow for another candidate, this is typically discouraged in CCM when the incumbent is eligible for a second term. When someone attempts to challenge the incumbent, it often leads to tension, as seen in 2010 when John Shibuda took the form to challenge Jakaya Kikwete, or in 2020 when Bernard Membe planned to take the nomination form to challenge John Magufuli, which led to his expulsion from the party.

Following these contributions, the Chair of the meeting, President Samia, first asked the audience if they accepted the government performance report, to which members in the venue responded affirmatively.

“All speakers have presented arguments that I am hesitant to discuss,” President Samia said, as the crowd cheered. “Don’t hesitate to speak.” At that moment, President Samia could be seen discussing something with former President Jakaya Kikwete, who was seated to her right, after President Hussein Mwinyi of Zanzibar. “Let me give you a chance to speak,” Samia could be heard saying from afar, as one of the microphones still picked up her voice.

“This call suggesting that there is no other choice besides Samia Suluhu Hassan and Dr. Hussein Mwinyi aligns with the notion that every party has its procedure for nominating candidates, and the decision [for CCM] ultimately lies with this meeting,” President Kikwete said in his 20-minute speech.

He continued: “When the party decides on its candidate is entirely up to the party itself. For instance, in 2005, the nomination meeting took place in May, and that’s when I was selected as CCM’s candidate. We create the rules ourselves, we design the procedures ourselves, but now we need to continue in a way that ensures our decision does not appear to violate those procedures significantly.”

At this point, President Kikwete asked Samia if he had helped the situation and began singing in support of President Samia. Kikwete’s interaction in the situation seemed to be a live reaction to the moment, with even the speech, which partly served as an endorsement, appearing to involve back-and-forth exchanges between him and Samia. This suggests that while the call to select President Samia was rumored before, it was not necessarily planned that Kikwete would be the one to seal the deal, but his voice in the matter carried significant weight.

Normally, starting a song after a speech indicates the end of the speech, which seemed to be the case with Kikwete’s speech. However, as the crowd began to calm, he could be heard asking President Samia to let him conclude, meaning he wasn’t done.

“Therefore, the way forward is to prepare a special resolution for this national congress stating this decision. Once the resolution is presented here, approved, and confirmed, it becomes the official decision of the national congress. By doing so, we formalize this matter,” President Kikwete concluded his speech. President Samia then called for a brief break while the Secretariat prepared the resolution for the national congress.

The resolution on selecting President Samia Suluhu Hassan was read before the congress by Ng’wasi Kamani.

“Per the authority vested in us under Article 101, Subsection 5b of the CCM Constitution, we collectively resolve that the name of Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan be designated as the candidate for the 2025 general election for the presidency of the United Republic of Tanzania. Therefore, we direct the CCM National Executive Committee, according to Article 103, Subsection 12b, to fulfill their responsibility today, January 19, 2025,” the resolution was read.

The resolution continued: “Second resolution, since under Article 103c of the CCM Constitution of 1977 (December 2022 edition), the CCM National Executive Committee is the body authorized to select a single member to stand in the Zanzibar presidential election, we instruct the Committee to convene today to fulfill its responsibility by selecting Dr. Hussein Ally Mwinyi, the CCM Vice Chairperson for Zanzibar.”

All members of the special National Congress voted yes when a general call was made by President Samia for the resolution. Later, the National Executive Committee presented Samia’s name before the Congress, which was unanimously approved with 1,924 members present. Dr. Hussein Mwinyi, the current President of Zanzibar, was also selected by the National Executive Committee as the CCM candidate for 2025.