Imagine this scenario. After losing the Democratic Party nomination to Barack Obama in 2008, Hillary Clinton refuses to concede defeat. She then calls a press conference and announces that she will defect to the Republicans and run for the presidency as their candidate instead. In response, the entire GOP establishment rallies behind her: John McCain, the Koch brothers, Mitt Romney, the Bush family, Newt Gingrich, you name it. All of them stand beside her and declare Clinton the future of their party.

The scenario seems unlikely, but in Tanzanian politics that is, essentially, what’s just happened.

Former prime minister Edward Lowassa, after losing Chama Cha Mapinduzi’s (CCM) nomination, became the most senior ruling party official to move to the country’s opposition. He will now pursue the presidency as the party’s standard bearer in the upcoming general election in October.

Lowassa was, up until a few weeks ago, the leading candidate to be CCM’s presidential nominee. An unstoppable juggernaut, one commentator declared of his candidacy. But things did not go to plan. His forced resignation in 2008 after being implicated in a corruption scandal, an allegation he denies, made senior party figures pause.

So at the nominating contest earlier this month, CCM went a different direction and selected John Magufuli, the works minister, as the party’s nominee. Lowassa did not take this well and reportedly complained bitterly to party leaders about the result. Nevertheless, the result stood.

And now, he has taken his talents elsewhere, doing something that he once said he would never countenance: To leave CCM.

But, as the saying goes, two months is a long time in politics. Lowassa has now joined forces with a party that once included him in the so-called “list of shame” that named him as one of the most corrupt figuresin Tanzanian society.

But now, those same people are changing their tunes. “We can’t go on with an old story that Lowassa is corrupt and yet we have no evidences that prove so,” Chadema national chairman Freeman Mbowe told the press.

Meanwhile, another senior party official, while acknowledging how polarizing Lowassa is due to his alleged corrupt past, admitted that their desire to win supersedes its anti-corruption principles. “In the present situation, we need to decide who is a bigger enemy to our country and its welfare, is it Lowassa, a corruption suspect or CCM and its system which facilitates corruption,” he said.

And for a party that claims to want to restore the governance values of revered first president Julius Nyerere, it seems odd that they will nominate a man whom the late president fought tooth and nail to keep from the presidency.

Winning is everything.

It’s that age old adage: power trumps all and political principles be damned. “It is also true the party is weak in some areas and so by welcoming Lowassa we

ectively bring these areas into our political arena,” the Chadema official said.

But CCM has ruled Tanzania since independence and the ruling party is once again likely to retain power. While the opposition has shownflashes of challenging this dominance, CCM has always been able to find a way to win.

The opposition is hoping that the former PM’s enormous personal wealth, which he is prepared to spend to realize his dream of becoming president, will make a difference this time. Additionally, five years ago, the opposition as a collective, won almost 40% of the vote. They are hoping that Lowassa’s popularity—a poll conducted in November last year had him leading the presidential field—can get them over the top. More importantly, they believe the war chest he brings will make the party even more competitive in parliamentary races than they were in 2010, when they won 24 seats.

The question is, with Lowassa at the helm, can Chadema argue that they are a party of change when their nominee has been in CCM politics for almost four decades? Well, on 25th of October, the voters will get a chance to have their say.

Stories Continues after ad

President Yoweri Museveni has today, Friday July 31 picked nomination forms for the National Resistance Movement party Chairperson and presidential candidate for the forthcoming 2016 national elections.

He becomes the first and last NRM member to collect nomination forms for the party’s topmost position and presidential flag bearer candidate, meaning he is unopposed. This has eased Evelyn Anite’s work, since she now does not have to explain a lot about her Kyankwanzi resolution on Museveni’s ‘sole candidature’.

Anyway, at around 2.00pm the NRM Electoral Commission Chairperson Dr Tanga Odoi welcomed President Yoweri Museveni and the First Lady Janet Kataha Museveni at the NRM party headquarters on Plot 10 Kyandondo Road.

Clad in a yellow shirt and yellow hat and waving at the crowds Museveni arrived at the NRM offices amid cheers and ululations from hundreds of supporters who had gathered at the venue to welcome him.

Among others who accompanied the President to No. 10 were the Vice President Edward Kiwanuka Sekandi, Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga and the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanyah.

The NRM party office premises were painted yellow as various groups of people were carrying President Museveni’s portraits in demonstration of support for their man. The whole place was actually a beehive of activity as supporters clad in yellow, with many selling items like key holders, caps and other paraphernalia that bore the president’s portrait.

Before his arrival, several supporters danced to the local Bagisu dance Kadodi as they waited for the President to arrive and attempted to escort him as he left although his convoy sped off after a short distance.

Earlier in the day, government Chief Whip in Parliament, Ruth Nankabirwa assured the audience that Mr Museveni doesn’t need Uganda but Ugandans are the ones who need him.

VP Sekandi told the media that Museveni is the best team player and said Mbabazi is free to return home since differences can be ironed out.

While addressing the crowd, the President said the population of Uganda in general has improved since 1986 when the NRM came into power. He also said that Uganda is undergoing infrastructural growth on a massive scale. “We are now building a standard gauge railway that will enable train to move from Kampala to Nairobi in 24 hours,” he stressed.

The President praised the two ‘super ladies’, Kampala   Capital City Authority (KCCA) Executive Director Jennifer Musisi and Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA)’s Allen Kagina, for the ‘good job’ they are doing in transforming Uganda.

The President also promised that the issue of corruption would be solved by the NRM. “We cleaned the army, UWA and will do so to the civilians,” he said.

He explained that he delayed to pick forms to lead NRM for another term because the culture of the party is not ‘I want’, especially for a senior position like that of the party chairperson.

Museveni’s visit to N0.10 today to pick the nomination forms comes in the wake of former Prime Minister John Patrick Amama Mbabazi announcing earlier in the day that he would contest for the presidency as an Independent.

Mbabazi, who had earlier expressed interest in the two positions, cited illegalities in the regulations issued by the MRM’s electoral body, especially the charging of fees for those who aspire for positions in the party.

Meanwhile, another ‘presidential contender’ Capt (rtd) Daudi Ruhinda Maguru, who had claimed he would pick nomination forms on Tuesday this week, did not turn up at all. He gave no reason for withdrawal, but some suspect he lacked the Shs10 million that was to be paid by anyone aspiring for the topmost positions in the party and country.

And, as the day comes to a close, Museveni remains NRM Chairman and is also the party’s flag bearer for presidency, a much sought-after relief for Evelyn Anite Kajik, the Minister of State for Gender in charge of Youth and Children Affairs.

Stories Continues after ad