Inevitably the point where something becomes “one too many” is always reached. And when it does occur no way needs to be told the glass ceiling has been breached.
Thus when a 19th political party was announced in Tanzania last month, almost everyone knew the public has had enough of mushrooming political parties, except the sponsors of the newly-born Alliance for Democratic Change.
The ADC is more of the break away from the Civic United Front, at onetime the second in popularity after the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi, the current face of Dr Julius Nyerere’s independence winning party.
This birth of ADC comes barely a few months after another party the CCK had received a registration as 18th party in Tanzania.
And true to the feeling of there being a one too many political party in Tanzania, the 19th is being denied recognition as a serious political party, as many seem to have concluded that mushrooming of political parties in Tanzania has more to do with it being more an opportunity for the sponsors to line their individual pockets than the national interest.
A journalists’ human rights campaigner, Mr. Christopher Kidanka condemns some politicians in Tanzania as having failed to differentiate between political parties and interest groups; “this then is the main cause of the mushrooming of political parties” in this country.
“It is strange to find that people are still thinking of establishing new parties since we are seeing nothing new in terms of policies and parties’ agenda except for new names which are very similar to those of the existing ones,” Kidanka said.
He regretted that the decimation of the CUF whose members broke away to form the ADC would have dire consequences on the CUF as the opposition in Parliament and oustide Parliament as
Rev. Fr Dr Joseph Matumaini a lecturer in policy communication at On his part a lecturer at St Augustine University of Tanzania, Rev. Fr Dr Joseph Matumaini, believes the turn of events in opposition parties “signifies lack of political morality” in some of the leaders.
A policy communication expert, Matumaini warns that with19 parties, 18 in the opposition might, could make serious people question the seriousness of leaders of those parties whether they are not just vehicles to facilitate incomes of their leaders.
“I am dumbfounded when I read a newspaper to note that we have 19 parties. I was flabbergasted that even sponsors might worry if at all these politicians are serious, or else they have turned their parties into sources of income,” said Matumaini.
Her recall that Mwalimu Julius Nyerere was successful in galvanizing financial support for the then Tanganyika African National Union because there was a clear focus that Tanzanians (Tanganyikans) were striving for having their own independence and this did not count whether these people supported Nyerere personally or not but his political course was not questionable anyhow.
He worried that if at all politicians have reached a stage whereby parties are used for financial gains rather than service to the people then that is a big blow to this country.
He however defended the decision of the people who had moved from the CUF because there might be genuine reasons that led them to call it quits with their former party, as it would send a message to the leadership that something had gone astray.