This article lists political parties in Tanzania. The country operates under a dominant multi-party system with the ruling party being in power since the nation attained its independence in 1961. It first governed as the

Tanganyika African National Union The Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) was the principal political party in the struggle for sovereignty in the East African state of Tanganyika (now Tanzania). The party was formed from the Tanganyika African Association by Julius Nyerere ...

, before merging with the

Afro-Shirazi Party The Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) was a Marxist-Leninist, African nationalist Zanzibari political party formed between the mostly Shirazi Shiraz Party and the mostly African Afro Party. In the 1963 Zanzibari general election, the ASP claimed 1 ...

to form the Chama Cha Mapinduzi.

Brief history and overview

Tanzania attained its independence as Tanganyika Territory from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in 1961 with the

(TANU) forming its first government. Following the

Zanzibar Revolution The Zanzibar Revolution () occurred in January 1964 and led to the overthrow of the Sultan of Zanzibar and his mainly Arab government by local Africans. Zanzibar was an ethnically diverse state consisting of a number of islands off the east co ...

in 1964, it merged with the

People's Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba The People's Republic of Zanzibar () was an African state founded in 1964, consisting of the islands of the Zanzibar Archipelago. It existed for less than a year before it merged with Tanganyika to create the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zan ...

to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar (present day

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

). It thereafter became a

one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...

with TANU and the

(ASP) being the only parties operating on the mainland and the

Zanzibar Archipelago The Zanzibar Archipelago ( ar, أرخبيل زنجبار, sw, Funguvisiwa la Zanzibar) consists of several islands lying off the coast of East Africa south of the Somali sea. The archipelago is also known as the Spice Islands. There are four ...

respectively. On 5 February 1977, TANU merged with its Zanzibari counterpart, the ASP to form the Chama Cha Mapinduzi which served as the sole legal party until 1992 when multi-party system was re-introduced. The country also adopted the

Structural Adjustment Program Structural adjustment programs (SAPs) consist of loans (structural adjustment loans; SALs) provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) to countries that experience economic crises. Their purpose is to adjust the coun ...

upon recommendation of the Bretton Woods Institutions. Since the re-introduction of the multi-party system, the CCM has continued to retain its popularity and the voter's confidence, having won all general elections since

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

. Jakaya Kikwete, the party's presidential candidate in 2005 won the election by a

landslide victory A landslide victory is an election result in which the victorious candidate or party wins by an overwhelming margin. The term became popular in the 1800s to describe a victory in which the opposition is "buried", similar to the way in which a geol ...

receiving more than 80% of the popular vote.

List

} , align="center" , CCM , align="center" , 1977 , , , - , bgcolor=, , Party for Democracy and Progress
, align="center" , CHADEMA , align="center" , 1992 , , , - , bgcolor=, , Civic United Front
sw, Chama cha Wananchi , align="center" , CUF , align="center" , 1992 , , , - , bgcolor=, , Alliance for Change and Transparency
, align="center" , ACT , align="center" , 2014 , , , - , bgcolor=, , Tanzania Democratic Alliance , align="center" , TADEA , align="center" , 1990 , , , - , bgcolor=, ,

Alliance for Democratic Change The Alliance for Democratic Change (ADC) is a political party in Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes regio ...

, align="center" , ADC , align="center" , 2012 , , , - , bgcolor=green, , Alliance for Tanzania Farmers Party
, align="center" , AFP , align="center" , 2009 , , , - , bgcolor=white, , Union for Multiparty Democracy , align="center" , UMD , align="center" , 1993 , , , - , bgcolor=#039, ,

National Convention for Construction and Reform – Mageuzi National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, align="center" , NCCR-M , align="center" , 1992 , , , - , bgcolor=white, ,

United People's Democratic Party The United People's Democratic Party (UPDP) is a political party in Tanzania. The party was registered on 4 February 1993. The party didn't field a presidential candidate in the 14 December 2005 election, but supported Sengondo Mvungi of the Nat ...

, align="center" , UPDP , align="center" , 1993 , , , - , bgcolor=#4790FF, , National Reconstruction Alliance , align="center" , NRA , align="center" , 1993 , , , - , bgcolor=, ,

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, align="center" , DP , align="center" , 2002 , , , - , bgcolor=#FDBB30, , United Democratic Party , align="center" , UDP , align="center" , 1994 , , , - , ,

Justice and Development Party Justice and Development Party may refer to several political parties, the best-known ones being: * Justice and Development Party (Morocco) * Justice and Development Party (Turkey) Justice and Development Party may also refer to: * Justice and Dev ...

, align="center" , CHAUSTA , align="center" , 1998 , , , - , , Progressive Party of Tanzania – Maendeleo , align="center" , PPT-Maendeleo , align="center" , 2003 , , , - , bgcolor=, , People's Voice
, align="center" , SAU , align="center" , 2005 , , , - , bgcolor=, , Social Party
, align="center" , CCK , align="center" , 2012 , , , - , bgcolor=, ,

People's Liberation Party The People's Liberation Party ( tr, Halkın Kurtuluş Partisi, HKP) is a Marxist–Leninist communist party in Turkey. The HKP is based strongly around Hikmet Kıvılcımlı's ideas and philosophy. The party was established on 15 June 2005, the 3 ...

, align="center" , CHAUMMA , align="center" , 2013 , , , -

Defunct parties

(ASP) * Attentive Democracy Party (, MAKINI) *

(TANU) *

Tanzania Labour Party The Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) is a political party in Tanzania. Electoral performance At the 2000 legislative elections, the party won 3 out of 269 seats in the National Assembly. In the presidential elections of the same day, its candidate Au ...

(, TLP) * Traditional Dhow * National League for Democracy (NLD) *

Zanzibar and Pemba People's Party The Zanzibar and Pemba People's Party (ZPPP) was a nationalist, African-dominated political party in Zanzibar. The ZPPP, in a coalition with the Arab-dominated Zanzibar Nationalist Party (ZNP), governed the island from 1961 to 1964. The ZPPP was ...

(ZPPP) *

Zanzibar Nationalist Party The Zanzibar Nationalist Party (ZNP) was a nationalist and conservative Arab-dominated political party in Zanzibar. The ZNP, in a coalition with the African-dominated Zanzibar and Pemba People's Party The Zanzibar and Pemba People's Party (ZPP ...

(ZNP)

References

External links

Official website of the National Electoral Commission
{{Africa in topic, List of political parties in

Political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...

Brief history and overview

List

Defunct parties

See also

References

External links