CCM starts screening presidential aspirants

CCM Secretary General Abdulrahman Kinana.

 The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) has officially started scrutinising its 38 presidential hopefuls in a process that climax with the picking of its presidential candidate.

In the grueling process, the applicants will pass through the three party organs of Central Committee, National Executive Committee and the General Conference in the coming four days beginning today and will be subjected to 13 key conditions.

The conditions include non involvement in any acts of corruption, dedication to party activities, non desertion to another party, non involvement in any crime and showing high level of political and social behaviour.

Addressing journalists yesterday at the CCM headquarters in Dodoma, the party’s Ideology and Publicity Secretary, Nape Nnauye said the party expects no undue pressure from any quarters in the carrying out the process.

He said they don’t expect any commotion or violence to occur after naming the party’s presidential candidate as all the candidates are aware that only one among them shall be picked to contest in the battle to the State House.

Nnauye who looked confidently said that they don’t expect any of their party members to defect to the opposition after the preliminary selection process.

He said: “These very same guidelines and procedures were used way back in 1995 when 17 hopefuls showed their intention of vying for the country’s top seat. Similarly in 2005 at least 11 members put up their requests to vie for the presidency”.

In all those different periods the presidential candidates had promised to accept the final results during their speeches, he said.

According to Nnauye, the party’s meetings started yesterday with the National Executive Committee’s (NEC) secretariat that was presided by the CCM Secretary General Abdulrahman Kinana.

He said the secretariat is responsible for preparing the ground work for the general conference slated for Saturday and Sunday.

As of today, President Jakaya Kikwete will chair the party’s Ethics Committee before the NEC meeting scheduled for tomorrow, he said.

Before chairing the NEC meeting, the President Kikwete, who is also the party chairman, is expected to launch the CCM new conference hall located near the University of Dodoma (UDOM).

Nnauye noted that on July 10, this year the Central Committee (CC) will endorse the party’s election manifesto and name the candidate for the Zanzibar presidential seat.

The election manifesto will be implemented in the course of the coming five years until 2020.

He said the National Executive Committee will also receive the names of the top five presidential hopefuls from the Central Committee and later appoint three who will be voted by party members during the party’s general meeting on Saturday.

“We expect to have the best election manifesto this year since it has been prepared by a team of professionals led by veteran politician, Steven Wasira,” he said, adding that the general meeting will be televised live by television stations in the country.

This time round, the party has not invited guests from outside as they normally do during the general conference. He assured NEC and other party members that security is tight.

Forty-two State House aspirants had picked up nomination forms at the beginning, but only 38 filled and returned them. Some of the candidates include Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda, former prime ministers Edward Lowassa, Frederick Sumaye and twelve other cabinet ministers.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN