Tanganyika and Zanzibar interim constitution 1964–1977

Interim Constitution (1964-1977)
In 1964, Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged into the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, renamed into “United Republic of Tanzania” that same year. The constitution of the newborn nation was based on Tanganyika’s 1962 Republican Constitution, modified according to the agreements between TANU and Zanzibar’s majority party, the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP). These agreements had been ratified under the name “Articles of Union”, and became part of the new constitution as “Acts of Union”. The most notable feature of the Acts of Union was the establishment of the double government structure that is also part of Tanzania’s current constitution. This structure included one government for the Union and one largely autonomous independent government for Zanzibar. Zanzibar’s government included its own Parliament and President. The President of Zanzibar also served as Vicepresident of the Union.
The constitution of 1964 was adopted ad interim. The Acts of Union themselves included directions on steps to take to elaborate a definitive constitution, to be elaborated by a constituent assembly comprising representatives of both TANU and ASP. This procedure was initiated but was later suspended.
[Changes in 1965
The Interim Constitution was modified several times after its first layout. A major change was made in 1965 to formalize the single-party nature of the Tanzanian government. Coherent to the double government structure defined in 1964, the 1965 Constitution identified two government parties, TANU for the Union and ASP for Zanzibar.
In the following years, several amendments were added. Those reduced the autonomy of Zanzibar and further strengthened the single-party state. For example, an amendment in 1975 established that all the government institutions, including the Parliament, were subordinate to the party’s executive committee. At that time, TANU and ASP were about to merge together into the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), something that happened in 1977.

Interim Constitution (1964-1977)