Two For Tanzania

Tanzania is a federation of mainland Tanzania, known as Tanganyika during colonialism, and the islands of Zanzibar. In order to coax Zanzibar into the federation and to keep the islands as part of Tanzania, the country possesses two governments. One is a Zanzibari government and the other is a Union government. It might seem as if this system favors Zanzibar, but the population on the islands is a scant fraction of that on the mainland, so Zanzibaris have little say in the Union government. Originally, during the last throes of the independence movement, there was hope for a federation that also would have also included Kenya and Uganda- the reasons for its failure will not be discussed here.

The predominant political party on the mainland aimed at liberation was TANU, led by Julius Nyerere. Nyerere eventually became the president of a federated Tanzania and TANU oversaw a one-party state until the 1990s. In 1967, Nyerere issued the Arusha Declaration, which declared that Tanzania was a socialist nation. Nyerere stepped down as president and peacefully transferred power to Ali Hassan Mwinyi in 1985.

Zanzibar's history is interestingly distinct from that of the mainland. Unlike the religious pluralism of the mainland, Zanzibar is almost completely Muslim. The islands had a powerful Arab minority represented by a coalition of the ZNP (Zanzibar Nationalist Party) and the ZPPP (Zanzibar and Pemba People's Party). Before British colonialism, Zanzibar was part of the Omani Sultanate. Black Africans divided themselves into two groups, mainlanders, which represented a minority of the black population in Zanzibar and another groups known as Shirazis. Shirazis adopted a Persian ethno-history to create a distinction between themselves and Africans who arrived on the islands more recently. Together, they formed the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP), which ruled Zanzibar following the Zanzibari Revolution in 1964. When Zanzibar gained independence, the British turned over the territory to Arabs, to the resentment of the Africans.

In 1977, TANU and ASP merged to create Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), which has ruled both governments ever since. The brief history of Tanzanian multi-party politics consists of CCM domination. It's most significant competition for its position in the Union government occurred in the election 0f 1995, when NCCR-Mageuzi mustered a respectable showing, despite the proliferation of numerous opposition parties. But the party lost nearly all of its support due to personality clashes. Now, the main opposition party is the CUF (Civic United Front). Since the onset of multi-party democracy, CUF has given CCM a significant challenge in Zanzibari elections.

The president of Tanzania is Jakaya Kikwete of the CCM, who was elected to his first term in 2005. He recently finished a term as the head of the African Union. (International Affairs Edition)