Thirteen Special Seats Members of Parliament from the so-called “Group of 19 MPs” who were expelled from CHADEMA in 2020 and later defected to CCM, have passed the vetting process conducted by the Central Committee of the National Executive Council (NEC) of CCM.
The group, which declared their intention to contest parliamentary and special seats in the 2025 general elections under the CCM banner, will now proceed to the next stage of the party’s nomination process — the internal primaries.
Announcing the names on July 29, 2025, the CCM Secretary for Ideology, Publicity and Training, Amos Makalla, mentioned eleven former CHADEMA MPs passed the screening for constituency parliamentary seats, while two others advanced in the internal primaries process for special seats at the regional level.
Those who qualified to run for constituency seats include Esther Matiko for Tarime Urban, Esther Bulaya for Bunda Urban, Nusrati Hanje for Ikungi East, Jesca Kishoa for Iramba East, Hawa Mwaifunga for Tabora Urban, and Cecilia Paresso for Karatu. Others are Kunti Majala for Chemba, Grace Tendega for Kalenga, Felister Njau for Moshi Rural, Sophia Mwakagenda for Rungwe, and Stella Fiyao for Ileje.
Meanwhile, Salome Makamba was approved to vie for a special seat in Shinyanga Region, while Tunza Malapo was cleared for a special seat in Mtwara Region.
These aspirants are set to compete in the party’s opinion polls scheduled for August 4, 2025, where CCM delegates will cast their votes to determine the party’s official candidates.
