The outgoing Member of Parliament for Vunjo, Dr. Charles Kimei, has been defeated in the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) primary elections by his longtime rival, Enock Koola, in the race for the party’s parliamentary nomination in the constituency.
Koola emerged with a landslide victory, garnering 1,999 votes, while Kimei received 861 votes out of a total of 4,054 valid votes cast.
The primaries were held over the weekend across various wards in the constituency located in the Kilimanjaro Region.
This victory marks the second consecutive time that Koola has outpolled Dr. Kimei in CCM primaries, although the outcome in 2020 did not result in his official nomination.
In the 2020 primaries, Koola received 187 votes compared to Kimei’s 178, but the party ultimately selected Kimei as its parliamentary candidate.
That decision sparked debate among party members, with some expressing dissatisfaction over the apparent disregard for grassroots votes.
Currently, the attention of party members and political analysts is fixed on the CCM Central Committee, as they await to see whether the party will honor the winner of the primaries this time around or repeat the controversial decision made in 2020.
The Vunjo constituency has a history of electing new Members of Parliament every five years since its establishment in 1995, making the current political process one of close scrutiny both socially and politically.