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CCM: Goodbye to factions
2007-11-09 09:55:08
By Mwondoshah Mfanga
The just-ended national congress of the ruling CCM has ushered in a new era for the party, with President Kikwete being able to consolidate its ranks and strengthen its capacity to implement the promises appearing in its 2000 election manifesto.
The President, who doubles as CCM national chairman, guided the recent elections into registering a resounding success. Few will contest the fact that the electoral process was transparent, with corrupt elements deprived of room for manoeuvre.
Although there have occurred incidents of corrupt elements seeking to attain political office through bribery in the recent past, the mechanism established to deny crafty party aspirants of that opportunity was able to minimise attempts to suppress democracy through the existence of electoral fraud.
Until now, there has been no outcry from the losers on the way the poll was conducted and, soon after the congress was over, President Kikwete got the opportunity to streamline the party leadership by merging experience with dynamism.
The wonders he performed by succeeding in having a mixture of new and old wine in a single bottle is set to put the ruling party on a new course in charting its way forward amid the political, social and economic challenges ahead.
Given the country’s multi-party political system, part of the ruling party’s cardinal role remains to lead and unite Tanzanians, regardless of the degree of political opposition.
But because charity begins at home, CCM must ensure that it remains united before it begins executing its priority duty of uniting the Tanzanian people.
In pursuit of that endeavour, Chairman Kikwete has been able to eliminate factions within CCM that were threatening to wreck the party. He thus deserves heartfelt congratulations for having been shrewd and courageous enough to allow internal party democracy to take care of the problem.
The magic has worked in that the party that he leads has now got a fresh opportunity to implement its goals and execute its responsibilities, the most paramount being to serve the people of this country by cementing peace, democracy and economic progress.
Since challenges ahead are no small task, we hope that the new CCM leadership will seize the opportunity resulting from its internal polls to further strengthen the Government and revive voters’ hopes which were stimulated by the 2005 general election campaigns.
All elections, whether state or party elections, have got winners and losers. The bad thing is not losing, but losing when the loser is unable to accept the inevitable.
Likewise, election victors have to make sure that theirs is not a victors’ reign but the reign of both winners and losers. This is because they share the same political destiny and creeds.
Political factions, whether made up of election victors or losers, are undesirable because they are the beginning of sparks that can eventually set a country’s peace ablaze.
As the CCM national congress delegates head back home after the Kizota event, we continue to remind them of this reality.
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