The 1985 Tanzanian parliamentary elections : a conservative election

The 1985 parliamentary elections in Tanzania attracted 1145 candidates to contest 119 constituencies. Such intensive competition may show patterns of conflict and change in a political system where interest articulation and aggregation are hidden in the consensus of a single political party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM, Party of the Revolution). In such circumstances, the social background of the candidates may give an insight into the interests that compete for influence or which dominate in the political process. This article presents the results of such an analysis and argues that the 1985 parliamentary elections were a victory for the political establishment. Professional politicians, typically with a teaching background, who had made their way up in party and government bureaucracies, dominated. Several outspoken MPs lost in these elections whereas several 'old guard' politicians, who had been involved in scandals, restored their fortunes. The 1985 elections did not overturn an established order, which is the literal meaning of 'mapinduzi', but conserved the position of an established elite. App., notes, ref