Political party institutionalisation in Tanzania: a state project?

In 1992 Tanzania re-established multiparty. One of the essential requirements for this system to function effectively is the institutionalization of political parties. Though not guaranteed to win elections, institutionalized parties are more likely to perform well their functions such as interest articulation, interest aggregation, socialization, and recruitment. In Tanzania, the new political parties that were formed after 1992 are weakly institutionalized. The most probable, though not the only one factor, held by this study is that such weakness is an outcome of the hostile legal regime within which the new parties are subjected to operate. The legal regime in question is by and large a sole property of the ruling party, the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and its government. The study utilized institutionalism theory to understand the dynamics of party institutionalization in Tanzania. Based on data from documents, interviews, and observation, the study revealed that the legal regime acts as a roadblock against the new parties. It constrains them particularly in three main areas, namely, policy appeals and mobilization of supporters, resources, and election. Besides, the ruling party and its government systematically and persistently preach and equate the new parties to violence and wars. The situation is alarming especially in the rural areas where most people live and remain ignorant. This study recommends that for the new parties to institutionalize they require, among other things, that the legal regime be redefined in line with the spirit of multiparty democracy