Tanganyika African National Union

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Tanganyika African National Union
Leader Julius Nyerere
Founded5 July 1954
Dissolved5 January 1977
Preceded by Tanganyika African Association
Succeeded by Chama cha Mapinduzi
HeadquartersDar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Ideology African nationalism
African socialism [1]
Democratic socialism [2]
Ujamaa
Political position Left-wing [1]
Party flag
Flag of TANU.svg
The National Archives UK - CO 1069-165-3.jpg

The Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) was the principal political party in the struggle for sovereignty in the East African state of Tanganyika (now Tanzania). The party was formed from the Tanganyika African Association by Seventeen founders in 7th July 1954 namely S.M.Kitwana,Kisung'uta Gabara,John Rupia,Japhet Nkura Kirilo,Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere,Germano Pacha,Abubakar Ilanga,Joseph Kimalando,Dossa Aziz,Tewa Said Tewa,Constantine Oswald Milinga,Lameck Makaranga Bugohe,Patrick George Kunambi,Joseph Kasella Bantu,Ally Sykes,Abdulwahid Sykes and Saadan Abdul Kandoro. [3] From 1964 the party was called the Tanzania African National Union. On 5th February 1977 the TANU merged with the ruling party in Zanzibar, the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP), to form the current Revolutionary State Party or Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM). The policy of TANU was to build and maintain a socialist state aiming towards economic self-sufficiency and to eradicate corruption and exploitation, with the major means of production and exchange under the control of the peasants and workers (Ujamaa-Essays on Socialism; "The Arusha Declaration").

Contents

Julius Nyerere was the first President of Tanzania, serving from the 1960s to 1985. In 1962, Nyerere and TANU created the Ministry of National Culture and Youth. Nyerere felt the creation of the ministry was necessary in order to deal with some of the challenges and contradictions of building a nation-state and a national culture after 70 years of colonialism. [4] The government of Tanzania sought to create an innovative public space where Tanzanian popular culture could develop and flourish. By incorporating the varied traditions and customs of all the people of Tanzania, Nyerere hoped to promote a sense of pride, thus creating a national culture. [5]

Electoral history

Presidential elections

ElectionParty candidateVotes%Result
1962 Julius Nyerere 1,127,98798.1%ElectedGreen check.svg
1965 2,520,90496.5%ElectedGreen check.svg
1970 3,220,63696.7%ElectedGreen check.svg
1975 4,172,26793.3%ElectedGreen check.svg

Bunge elections

ElectionParty leaderVotes%Seats+/–PositionResult
1958–59 Julius Nyerere 47,68574.4%
30 / 64
Increase2.svg 30Increase2.svg 1stSupermajority government
1960 100,58182.8%
70 / 71
Increase2.svg 40Steady2.svg 1stSupermajority government
1965 2,263,830

in alliance with ASP

100%
188 / 188
Increase2.svg 118Steady2.svg 1stSole legal party
1970 in alliance with ASP 66.6%
106 / 106
Decrease2.svg 82Steady2.svg 1stSole legal party
1975 4,474,267

in alliance with ASP

100%
223 / 223
Increase2.svg 117Steady2.svg 1stSole legal party

Note

In the 1958–59 TANU won all seats the remaining 34 seats were appointed

The Afro Shirazi party was the sole legal party in Zanzibar which is an autonomous region

References

  1. 1 2 Datta, Ansu K. (July–September 1967). "Left-Wing Movement in Sub-Saharan Africa". India Quarterly. 23 (3). JSTOR: 238–239. doi:10.1177/097492846702300302. JSTOR   45069215 . Retrieved 2025-05-17.
  2. Banks, Arthur S.; Overstreet, William (1983). Political Handbook of the World: 1982-1983: Governments and Intergovernmental Organisation as of January 1st 1983. McGraw-Hill. p. 476. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  3. Osabu-Kle, Daniel Tetteh (2000). Compatible cultural democracy: the key to development in Africa. University of Toronto Press. p. 167. ISBN   1-55111-289-2.
  4. Music and Performance in Funerals & Love Songs
  5. Lemelle, Sidney J. "'Ni wapi Tunakwenda': Hip Hop Culture and the Children of Arusha." In The Vinyl Ain't Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, 230-54. London; Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto Pres