On the first day of the special congress of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) on May 29, 2025, the party made further amendments to its Constitution, following the January 2025 amendments. First, it authorizes the use of digital meetings; second, it increases the number of members on the Board of Trustees from eight to nine; and third, it introduces a requirement that the Board of Trustees provide written approval for the party’s economic projects.
Below is the full discussion as it was led by the party’s Chairperson, President Samia Suluhu Hassan:
President Samia: Alright, esteemed delegates, we now proceed to the agenda item as outlined in the schedule—very minor amendments to our Constitution. We have brought forward minor amendments to our Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) Constitution of 1977, January edition of this year, as proposed in this document, and they focus on the following issues. First, as you all know, our Chama Cha Mapinduzi continues to evolve just as the world is evolving. Within our party, we are now also working digitally, and we have installed systems that enable communication between regions and districts, or regions with each other, or districts with each other, in order to simplify our operations.
So, we have come up with the idea of e-meetings, online meetings, which the Organization Department is proposing for the following meetings to be conducted virtually:
- The first meeting is the District Secretariat
- District Political Committee
- Regional Secretariat
- Regional Political Committee
- Secretariat of the Special Committee of the CCM National Executive Council
- Secretariat of the CCM National Executive Council
- Special Committee of the CCM National Executive Council
- Central Committee of the CCM National Executive Council
- CCM National Executive Council
- National Congress
As of now, we have included other meetings with the understanding that as we continue to advance, we will progress technologically, and our Constitution gives us the opportunity to create regulations for these meetings. But for now, we have started with meetings of political committees or executive political councils at the regional or district levels. However, these meetings are not currently provided for in our party’s Constitution.
Therefore, we have decided to include them so that these meetings do not violate the party’s Constitution—so that they are not held contrary to the Constitution of Chama Cha Mapinduzi. That is the first proposal we are presenting to you. However, these meetings mentioned will only be held online when there is a necessity or emergency. For district and regional level meetings, they will be conducted virtually only with the approval of the Secretary General. They must notify the Secretary General why the meeting is being held online—this is to prevent misuse of these digital platforms. That is the first matter.
The second matter concerns the Board of Trustees. The Political Parties Act, Chapter 258 (Revised 2019), requires that the number of members on a political party’s Board of Trustees be a number not divisible by two—that is, 3, 5, 7, 9, or 11. Currently, our Board of Trustees has eight members. So, we are required to add one more person to make it nine, in line with the Constitution. Therefore, we are proposing this amendment to ensure we have the number that is required on the Board of Trustees.
But the second part concerning the Board of Trustees relates to its efforts to strengthen the party’s political economy. We intend to utilize professional advice in its investment activities with the goal of increasing productivity. As you know, our party is now placing strong emphasis on empowering our party-owned companies so they can generate benefits for the party. We are increasingly focusing on investment and the economy. With this perspective, it is an important time for the Board of Trustees to review, assess, and give guidance on projects initiated at the regional level and by other institutions for the benefit of the party.
In carrying out this responsibility, the Board of Trustees of Chama Cha Mapinduzi will now be required to grant a written approval. As the Constitution currently reads, the Board of Trustees is to delegate authority—but the phrase used is simply that it “shall delegate,” which has been interpreted to mean automatically political committees at the regional level can proceed with projects and complete everything without involving the Board of Trustees.
Now, we are adding the phrase “in writing.” The rest of the provision remains the same. Delegation must now be in writing, meaning political committees must formally seek permission from the Board of Trustees and receive a written response.
Therefore, these are the three amendments. First, the introduction of digital meetings, second, the number of trustees, and the third, one is requiring that the delegation of project-related authority be done in writing. These are the changes being submitted for approval by the delegates of the congress.
President Samia: Has approval been granted? [She asks]
Delegates: Yes!
President Samia: Has approval been granted? [She asks again]
Delegates: Yes!
President Samia: Thank you very much.
Delegates applaud.
