By The Arusha News Reporters
Former Arusha Regional Commissioner (RC), Mr Paul Christian Makonda, has emerged the clear winner for CCM’s nomination for the Arusha Urban Parliamentary seat, following a landslide victory in party primaries held on August 4, 2025.
Mr Makonda secured an overwhelming 9,056 votes, roughly equal to 97.63 per cent of the total valid votes cast by delegates. His victory comes after the exclusion of the former Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Mrisho Mashaka Gambo, who was not cleared by the party’s vetting process.
The nomination race for Arusha Urban featured seven aspirants. Official results indicated that, aside from Makonda, the top contenders included Mustapha Said Nassoro who garnered 83 votes, Hussein Omarhajji Gonga with 46 votes and Ally Said Babu with 28 votes.
Three others – Aminatha Salash Toure, Lwembo Mkwavi Mgweno and Jasper Augustino Kishumbu — have their vote counts not publicly disclosed.
Voter turnout was notably high with 9,265 delegates out of 10,186 registered, translating to 91 per cent turn up.
In Longido constituency, the nomination was secured by incumbent Dr Steven Kiruswa who received 9,064 votes, which is 77.5 per cent of the total votes.
In Monduli, former incumbent MP, Mr Fredrick Lowassa, led other contenders with the highest number of votes 7,137 out of 10,745 votes. In Arumeru West, Joshua Nassari secured the highest 6,678 votes followed by incumbent Dr John Pallangyo (652). In Karatu, Mr Daniel Awack Tlemai received 7,883 votes followed by Cecilia Paresso (1,341). In the UWT women’s special seat for Arusha, Martha Kivunge led with 1004, followed by Chiko Issa (775 votes).
The CCM nomination process, which concluded on August 4, followed a rigorous vetting exercise by the party’s Central Committee (CC), chaired by President Samia Suluhu Hassan. More than 40 sitting MPs and several high-profile figures were either dropped to contest in primaries or defeated at the ballot box.
The final nominations shall be announced by the CC before candidates are forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the names to appear on ballot forms alongside those from opposition parties if any, ahead of the October 29, 2025 General Election.
