Tanzania's ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) is heading for an extraordinary congress in Dodoma, where President John Magufuli will take over its chairmanship.

President Magufuli has criticised the party over corruption and complacency, promising reforms once he is elected its chairman.

Over 1,200 CCM cadres consisting of MPs, regional and district leaders are expected in Dodoma.

Despite the constitution allowing former president Jakaya Kikwete to stay on as party chairman until in August 2017, the unwritten rule requires him to relinquish the position after leaving the presidency.

Among President Magufuli challenges would be re-energising the party and raising money for running the party. A cross-section of newspapers reported last week that President Magufuli had turned down the party’s Central Committee over their request to look for over Tsh3.5 billion to finance the party’s convention.

Dr Bashiru Ally, a political scientist from the University of Dar es Salaam says changes in the party under the chairmanship of President Magufuli are inevitable because of the 2015 elections, which saw some party heavyweight defecting to the opposition, leaving the party fractured.

“Nobody knows what he exactly stands for. The party’s policies are also still ambiguous. It can’t be business as usual,” Dr Ally said.

 President Magufuli has never held any party position since he became the MP on the party ticket in 1995 and his nomination as the party flag bearer in July 2015 was highly unexpected.

“The argument that he doesn’t know the party because he has never held any position within the party is debatable. As the chairman, he can mobilise support to steer the party to the direction he wants,” according to Dr Ally.

The president will have to deal with corruption during the party nomination at all levels, where those without money rarely get leadership positions from the grassroots.

Loyalty, income

Party insiders believe that with CCM Secretary General, Abdulhman Kinana retiring, President Magufuli is likely to push for a successor who not only is loyal to him but with business acumen to use the party’s considerable assets to sources of income.

Dr Benson Bana, a political scientist from the University of Dar es Salaam told The East African that the president takes over the party while his popularity is at the peak therefore he will use the political support he has to restructure the party. He says the major focus would be to have a smaller but effective party leadership.

“We should expect new faces mainly youth because the party has for a long time been characterised by old guards especially at this time when political competition in the country is very high. The party will focus on strengthening its presence at the grassroots by giving their representatives there more powers,” said Dr Bana.