in depth), and capped by inversion and dry, subsiding air. These factors result in light or insignificant rainfall year-round except during the transitional periods between the monsoons. Moshi's altitude keeps temperatures lower than surrounding cities, even without the maritime effects that a coastal city enjoys. Nighttime temperatures are relatively consistent throughout the year, averaging from 15 to 17 degrees Celsius. Moshi has noticeably warmer daytime temperatures from October through March, when average high temperatures exceed 30 degrees Celsius, and noticeably cooler daytime temperatures from May through August, when average high temperatures are 25 to 26 degrees Celsius. Moshi's wettest months are March through May, when around 71 percent of its annual rainfall occurs. Politics Moshi has been the base of opposition politics since the struggle for independence. The last Mangi Mkuu (Paramount Chief) of the Chagga, Thomas Lenana Marealle II, whose palace was located in Moshi, worked for the independence of Tanganyika when it was still a United Nations trust territory under British administration. In his speech to the United Nations Trusteeship Council on 17 June 1957, he said that Tanganyika could become self-governing within ten to fifteen years. This speech occurred one day before Julius Nyerere addressed the same body. In 2010, the unsuccessful Chadema presidential candidate, Willibrod Slaa, received 55.6 percent of the popular vote in the Moshi Urban District compared to 43.5 percent for the nationwide winner, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete of the Chama cha Mapinduzi party. In 2010, the Chadema parliamentary candidate, Philemon Kiwelu Ndesamburo, was elected to office with 62.3 percent of the vote. As of May 2012, six of the seven special seats on the Moshi Municipal Council are held by Chadema party members. In Literature In 1953, Journalist John Gunther described Moshi as "the kind of town Somerset Maugham, if he ever wrote about Africa, might have invented." See also Railway stations in Tanzania Chaga people Pare people References External links Moshi Municipal Council Populated places in Kilimanjaro Region Mount Kilimanjaro Moshi