Civic United Front

The Civic United Front (CUF; Swahili: Chama Cha Wananchi, lit. 'Party of Citizens') is a liberal party in Tanzania. Although nationally based, most of the CUF's support comes from the Zanzibar islands of Unguja and Pemba.^[2] The party is a member of Liberal International.^[3]

Civic United Front Chama Cha Wananchi (Swahili)
Abbreviation	CUF
Chairman	Ibrahim Haruna Lipumba
Founded	28 May 1992 (1992-05-28)
Registered	21 January 1993
Merger of	Civic Movement Zanzibar United Front
Split from	Chama Cha Mapinduzi
Headquarters	Zanzibar
Ideology	Zanzibari autonomism Liberalism
Political position	Centre
Regional affiliation	ALN
International affiliation	LI
Colours
Slogan	Equal rights for all (Haki sawa kwa wote)[1]
Bunge	3 / 393
Zanzibar HoR	0 / 85
EALA	0 / 9
SADC PF	0 / 5
Pan-African Parliament	0 / 5
Election symbol
A pair of shaking hands underneath the Scales of Justice
Party flag
Website
www.cuf.or.tz
Politics of Tanzania Political parties Elections

History

The Civic United Front was formed on 28 May 1992 through a merger of two formerly existing movements: KAMAHURU, a pressure group for democratization in Zanzibar, and the Civic Movement, a human rights organization based on the mainland.

Many CUF leaders were former stalwarts of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), some of whom had been expelled over disputes about party and government policy. The party received full recognition on 21 January 1993.

Leadership

• Ibrahim Lipumba, National Chairman
• Abass Juma Muhunzi, Vice Chairman ^[4]
• Magdalena Sakaya, Deputy Secretary General (Tanzania mainland)

Electoral performance

Lipumba (left) and Hamad (right) at a press conference in Pemba after their victory in a by-election

The Civic United Front participated in the 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 elections.

In the 1995 presidential election, CUF candidate Ibrahim Lipumba placed third (behind Benjamin Mkapa of the CCM and NCCR-Mageuzi candidate Augustine Mrema) winning 6.43% of the vote. In the National Assembly, the party won 24 of 232 elective seats, making it the largest opposition party in the legislature. Seif Shariff Hamad won 49.76% of the vote against 50.24% for the ruling party's Salmin Amour in elections for the presidency of Zanzibar. The CUF also obtained 24 of 50 elective seats in the Zanzibar House of Representatives. International and domestic observers heavily criticized the conduct of the Zanzibar polls.

Following the election, the CUF boycotted the House of Representatives and refused to recognize the Zanzibari government as legitimate. In November 1997, eighteen leaders of the CUF were arrested and subsequently charged with treason. These charges were later dropped.

In the 29 October 2000 presidential election, Lipumba placed second to Mkapa, winning 16.26% of the vote. The party maintained its status as the largest opposition party in the National Assembly by winning 17 of 231 elective seats. Seif Shariff Hamad won 32.96% of the vote against 67.04% for the ruling party's Amani Abeid Karume in elections for the presidency of Zanzibar. The CUF won 16 of 50 elective seats in the Zanzibar House of Representatives. The elections were considered largely free and fair on the mainland, but observers noted serious irregularities in the Zanzibar polls, with some calling for a complete re-run of the polls. When the electoral commission nullified the results in only 16 constituencies, the CUF announced that it would boycott the new elections conducted on 5 November 2000.

A CUF party office in Chake Chake, Pemba

Elections for the Zanzibar Presidency and House of Representatives took place on 30 October 2005. Seif Shariff Hamad placed second to incumbent Amani Abeid Karume, winning 46.07% of the vote. The party won 19 seats in the House of Representatives.

National elections were held on 14 December 2005. Ibrahim Lipumba placed a distant second to CCM candidate Jakaya Kikwete, winning 11.68% of the vote. Out of the 232 National Assembly seats filled through direct election, the CUF won 19.

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Election	Party candidate	Votes	%	Result
1995	Ibrahim Lipumba	418,973	6.43%	Lost N
2000		1,329,077	16.26%	Lost N
2005		1,327,125	11.68%	Lost N
2010		695,667	8.28%	Lost N
2015	Did not participate
2020	Ibrahim Lipumba	72,885	0.49%	Lost N

Bunge elections

Election	Party leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Government
1995	Ibrahim Lipumba	323,432	5.02%	28 / 285	28	3rd	Opposition
2000		890,044	12.54%	21 / 285	9	2nd	Opposition
2005		1,551,243	14.3%	30 / 323	9	2nd	Opposition
2010		818,122	10.61%	34 / 357	4	3rd	Opposition
2015		1,257,765	8.63%	42 / 393	8	3rd	Opposition
2020				2 / 393	40	4th	Opposition

References

1. G. Thomas Burgess; Ali Sultan Issa; Seif Sharif Hamad (2009). Race, Revolution, and the Struggle for Human Rights in Zanzibar: The Memoirs of Ali Sultan Issa and Seif Sharif Hamad. Ohio University Press. pp. 266–. ISBN 978-0-8214-1851-2.
2. John Ndembwike (2009). Tanzania: Profile of a Nation. New Africa Press. pp. 119–. ISBN 978-9987-9308-1-4.
3. "Civic United Front at Liberal International". Liberal International.
4. "Tanzania: High Court rules Prof Lipumba is CUF chairman". The Citizen. 18 March 2019.