CCM Sidelines Makamba, Clears Path for Kikwete Family

Tanzania’s ruling party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), has axed former Foreign Minister January Makamba from its parliamentary primaries ahead of the October 2025 elections. The party, on the other hand, has given former First Lady Salma Kikwete and her son Ridhiwani an unusually smooth path to victory, with just a single approved candidate per constituency. The move, decided during a nearly 36-hour Central Committee meeting chaired by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, is widely seen as a deliberate effort to sideline potential rivals and consolidate control over the future National Assembly, a key step toward influencing the 2030 presidential succession landscape.