Two Parties

Personally, I hate parties. Parties have small talk. I hate small talk. But I see the value of two parties.

The United States has had two main political parties for well over a century. That there are only two help to ensure that these parties must build a diverse coalition of followers. In the U.S. a one-issue party would not have much success. Zimbabwe has also recently seen the rise of a strong opposition party. The MDC reaches out to a broad range of the population. It started as a trade union organization, has fought against Robert Mugabe's policy of grabbing farm land and (theoretically) redistributing it, and has a multi-racial following.

That takes us to Tanzania. Tanzania, which is a union of two states, mainland Tanganyika and Zanzibar, has had one party running the country throughout its independent history. Interesting enough, before 1977, Tanzania was a one-party state, but had two parties. This is because it has two governments, one for the union and the other for Zanzibar. TANU ruled the union government and ASP ran Zanzibar until they merged to form CCM in 1977.

Beginning in 1992, Tanzania instituted a multi-party democracy. But almost every opposition party has been weak. CCM has never faced a stiff challenge for control of the union government. Jakaya Kikwete received 80% of the vote for the union presidency in 2005. His closest competitor was Ibrahim Lipumba of the CUF. The CUF is largely a Zanzibar-based party. In Zanzibar presidential elections, CUF has been much closer. But the tightness of the contests for control has led to tragic violence. CUF boycotted parliament after declaring fraud in the 1995 elections. That hostility carried over until a bloodbath ensued following the 2000 elections.

It is important to understand that two strong parties will not ensure a functioning democracy. Both, in Zanzibar and in Zimbabwe, the existence of two strong parties has resulted in bloodshed. However, two strong parties is the best chance for the most people to be represented. In Tanzania's union government, one strong government consistently defeats a divided opposition, ultimately negating any real choice for Tanzanian citizens and creating an absence of accountability for the country's leaders. (International Edition: revised, only on Tanzania)