Next month, the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), which has produced all four presidents since Independence in 1961, is due to announce its candidate in Tanzania's presidential elections due in October. Given the weakness of the 16 opposition parties and their inability to cooperate against the CCM, its victory is almost certain. So the real race is the battle within the CCM for the presidential nomination. Whoever wins, President Benjamin Mkapa is set to retire gracefully in November, at the end of his second term in office. However, some 15 candidates for the succession (and the list is still growing) criss-cross the country in search of support. Old and young, rich and poor, Muslims and Christians, all hope for better things with a new president in charge. Further afield, hope reigns that the country's 44 years of peace and stability will continue.