Four of Tanzania's opposition parties have agreed to field a single runner for the country's 2010 presidential election, after striking an agreement.
The four opposition parties are the Civic United Front, Tanzania Labor Party, National Convention for Construction and Reform (NCCR-Mageuzi) and Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema), according to local press reports on Friday.
The opposition parties reached the agreement to field a single runner in the hope of beefing up their chance of winning in the multiparty general elections in 2010.
Tanzania shifted to multiparty politics in 1992 and in the past three multiparty general elections, Chama Cha Mapinduzi has won the presidential and parliamentary elections in 1995, 2000 and 2005.
The Guardian newspaper quoted NCCR-Mageuzi National Chairman James Mbatia as saying after signing the MoU that it was the beginning of a process that would lead to the formation of a single political party that would front a common presidential candidate for the 2010 elections.
Tanzania now has 18 fully-registered political parties, with the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi being the largest with membership of more than 4 million countrywide.
The second largest party, the Civic United Front, is estimated to have membership of between 300,000 and 500,000 in the country.