The ruling party in Tanzania, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), has made minor amendments to its 1977 Constitution (May 2025 edition) during a special congress held virtually on July 26, 2025.
The key change allows the party’s Central Committee of the National Executive Council(NEC) to select more than three names of aspiring parliamentary and Zanzibar House of Representatives candidates for internal party primaries.
The amendment affects Article 105(7)(F) of the CCM Constitution, which outlines the responsibilities of the NEC in the process of nominating candidates for parliamentary and representative positions. The new provision adds the clause: “unless the Central Committee of the National Executive Council(NEC) decides otherwise.”
The article now reads: “To consider and nominate no more than three names of CCM members per constituency who have applied for parliamentary or House of Representatives candidacy, to be submitted for internal opinion polls, unless the Central Committee of the National Executive Council(NEC) decides otherwise.”
This revision builds on earlier structural changes to the party’s candidate nomination procedures made during the May 2025 congress in Dodoma.
Explaining the reason for the latest amendment prior to the vote, CCM National Chairperson and President of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, said the move was necessary due to the overwhelming number of party members who applied to contest under the CCM banner.
“We expanded our internal democracy by increasing the number of delegates allowed to vote in the primaries, which in turn encouraged a significant number of party members to seek nomination,” said President Samia. “In some constituencies, we have up to 39 or 40 aspirants. Limiting the NEC to submit only three names in such cases would not be reasonable.”
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According to CCM, a total of 4,109 aspirants have applied for parliamentary positions across the country—3,585 from Mainland Tanzania and 524 from Zanzibar. Of these, 263 are women. For the Zanzibar House of Representatives, 503 individuals have taken nomination forms.
As per the party’s schedule, the screening process will continue on July 27, 2025, with the CCM National Committee on Security and Ethics reviewing all aspirants. The Central Committee will then shortlist names on July 28, 2025, ahead of opinion polls set for August 4, 2025.
The constitutional amendment also applies to the nomination of local government councillor candidates. Article 91(6)(C) was revised to allow the Central Committee to forward more than three names to local delegates for opinion polls. However, President Samia clarified that since the councillor nomination process has already taken place, the recent changes will not be applied retroactively.
