Tanzanian presidential race kicks off with rallies

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (Reuters) -- Tanzania's President Benjamin Mkapa launched his bid for a second five-year term Saturday, saying he had laid the foundations for an economy which now was ready to grow.

Presidential and local elections are to be held in the impoverished east African nation October 29.

Mkapa, a 61-year-old former journalist, has overseen the implementation of Western-backed economic reforms over the last five years which have produced better macroeconomic fundamentals but have hardly enriched the lives of most people.

The president -- who has been criticized by the opposition for selling his country's assets through privatization without benefiting ordinary Tanzanians -- defended his record and said the reforms had earned Tanzania massive debt relief.

"We've laid the foundation for a good economy. Now we're ready to grow the economy, and not only grow it but to put it in the hands of the people," Mkapa told thousands of supporters of the ruling Chama Chama Mapinduzi (CCM) in Dar es Salaam.

Around 40,000 people packed a stadium in a poor suburb of the capital bedecked in brand new T-shirts and caps in the green and yellow colors of CCM which has been in power since independence in 1961.

The presidential race pits Mkapa against three other candidates, but in the face of a weak and divided opposition, Mkapa is widely expected to cruise to victory.

His fiercest competition is likely to come from the Civic United Front's (CUF) presidential candidate Professor Ibrahim Lipumba.

At a rival rally, where supporters waved blue-and-white CUF flags, Lipumba promised to improve social services and provide free primary education for all children.

The former economics professor also pledged to revive the backward agricultural sector by increasing maize and rice production for export.

"With the rehabilitation of our collapsing industries, we will be able to create more jobs for our young people who are roaming in the streets," Lipumba said.

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