General Elections 2025: Tanzania’s Ruling Party picks Steven Wasira for Vice Chairperson Position

Tanzania’s ruling party the Chama Cha Mapinduzi has appointed veteran stalwart Steven Wasira for the post of the mainland’s Vice Chairman during its meeting held in Dodoma.

The new development comes just when the incumbent party prepares to once more face the opposition in the forthcoming October 2025 General Elections in Tanzania.

The 80-year-old Wasira, who previously held several positions in the party as well as the Tanzanian Government, landed the key post after being endorsed by the CCM Central Committee and the National Executive Council (NEC) meetings, held in the Dodoma City, on Saturday, January 18, 2025.

Steven Wasira now fills the position, which had been left vacant by his predecessor, the former CCM Vice Chairperson, Abdulrahman Kinana who retired from the party’s second highest post five months ago.

The CCM overall chairperson is Ms Samia Suluhu Hassan, who is also the country president.

In his acceptance speech, Wasira thanked the party’s National Chairperson, President Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan and other party delegates the trust bestowed onto him, praising CCM for the achievements gained in various sectors.

Steven Masatu Wasira boasts long track records, including being appointed as Minister of Water on January 4, 2006, by President Jakaya Kikwete, who had just taken over the State House then.

He later served as the Minister for Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives on October 15, 2006, but again on February 12, 2008, he was named as the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office for Regional Administration and Local Government.

On November 24, 2010, Mr Wasira was named Minister of State in the President’s Office for Social Relations and Coordination in the newly formed cabinet after the October 2010 elections.

Within the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi, CCM, most recently he was a member of the 370-member National Executive Committee (NEC), the highest policy and decision-making body of the ruling party.

In November 2012, he was overwhelmingly re-elected by the party’s National Congress to serve another five-year term.

Also, in 2011, he was elected a member of the party’s powerful 28-member Central Committee (CC). He continued serving as a member of the Central Committee after being re-elected in February 2013 up to December 2017.