Zanzibar Election Campaign: Smaller Parties Struggle to Gain Momentum
Two weeks after the official campaign period began, Zanzibar’s smaller political parties are facing significant challenges in mounting comprehensive election campaigns. Of the 17 presidential candidates who initially collected nomination forms, only 11 were ultimately cleared to contest the upcoming election.
Currently, only two parties – Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and ACT-Wazalendo – have managed to launch full-scale campaign efforts, while other parties have struggled to move beyond initial launch rallies.
Financial constraints and limited public support are cited as primary obstacles for smaller parties. Many candidates are adopting alternative campaign strategies, focusing on direct voter engagement and targeted local interactions instead of traditional mass rallies.
Despite campaign challenges, smaller parties are presenting ambitious policy platforms targeting key economic sectors. Candidates have made promising pledges including:
– Establishing clove-processing factories
– Proposing government-funded dowries for young couples
– Promising to raise clove farmer incomes
– Pledging vocational training initiatives
– Proposing minimum salary increases for teachers
– Suggesting strategies to reduce rice prices
While these parties demonstrate innovative policy approaches, they face a significant uphill battle against the established political giants. The current campaign landscape reveals the substantial challenges smaller political organizations encounter in challenging the dominant political narrative in Zanzibar.
The slow campaign pace underscores the complex political dynamics and resource limitations facing alternative political voices in the region’s electoral process.
