Ten of Tanzania's 18 fully- registered political parties have taken part in the country's third multiparty elections slated for Wednesday, among them the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi and the main opposition Civic United Front.

Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), or the Revolutionary Party, is the biggest party in Tanzania with the members of nearly 10 percent of the country's 36 million population. The CCM has dominated Tanzania's political scene since the country's independence in the 1960's.

The east African country shifted to multiparty politics in 1992 and inaugurated two multiparty general elections in 1995 and 2000. The CCM won both elections with landslide victories.

Tanzanian President Benjamin William Mkapa, also national chairman of the CCM, is expected to end his two five-year presidential tenures this year. But the party's presidential candidate, incumbent Foreign Minister Jakaya Kikwete will still hold a critical edge in this year's election.

Tanzania's main opposition Civic United Front (CUF) enjoys supports in Muslims who account for more than 90 percent of the over one million residents in Zanzibar, the semi-autonomous isles of Tanzania.

It has been locked horns with the ruling CCM party since the first multiparty elections in 1995, with the CUF refusing to recognize the CCM presidential candidate as the officially declared winner for Zanzibar. Though the two parties signed a peace accord in 1999, the 2000 general elections also experienced the same hostile bickering with the CUF rejecting again the election results.

In a recent poll, the CUF's presidential candidate Ibrahim Lipumba has been found to be the second popular candidate, after CCM's Jakaya Kikwete.

Source: Xinhua