by Phyllis Johnson – SANF 05 No 111
Presidential candidates and political parties in the United Republic of Tanzania wrapped up their campaigns for the 14 December elections with promises to increase employment, tackle corruption and empower people to manage the economy.
There were also promises of more schools and health centres, and free education at primary and secondary levels. Primary education is already free in Tanzania.
Police presence has been strengthened to ensure a peaceful atmosphere for voters, especially in Dar es Salaam, where the two main parties held their final rallies of the campaign.
Both Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the Civic United Front (CUF) were refused permission by police to stage marches or demonstrations on the day of their final rallies. The Dar es Salaam regional police commander said this was to avoid confrontation and also congestion as the final days of the campaign were working days.
Some key seats are being hotly contested with claims and counter-claims by candidates who say they are making inroads into the territory of another party.
More than 200 election observers from outside Tanzania are deployed throughout the country to watch the elections, accredited by the National Electoral Commission (NEC). The election observers are from the Parliamentary Forum of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union and the US National Democratic Institute, as well as the European Union and several other countries in Africa and Europe.
Outgoing President Benjamin Mkapa had some advice for the election observers, urging them not to go to the elections with a pre-conceived view that a certain party must win or lose. “Maintain neutrality, avoid alignment with any political party or candidate and desist from telling election supervisors what to do.”
Mkapa also cautioned political parties and the media to refrain from announcing “unofficial” results before the NEC, saying this could disrupt the peace.
Election day is a public holiday in Tanzania to enable more than 15 million voters throughout the vast country to go to the pools to choose their next president and parliament (the Bunge), as well as local councillors.
All Tanzanians over the age of 18 have the right to vote to choose representatives for both local and central governments.
All residents enjoy rights embedded within the country’s Constitution such as the right to life, equality before the law, freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, and the right to work.
Citizens also have duties and responsibilities that include taking part in lawful and productive work, abiding by the laws of the country, safeguarding public property, and defending and protecting the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the nation.
New legislation facilitated by a constitutional change guarantees one-third of seats for women at all levels of government.
The election campaign has been high profile and voter turnout is expected to be high, although it is still not clear how the postponement of the Union elections from 30 October will impact on the electorate. This has had the effect of extending the campaign period by more than six weeks.
Union elections were postponed due to the death of the vice-presidential candidate of one of the parties. The electoral law says that if the presidential candidate or running mate dies the election shall be suspended and the party of the deceased has 21 days to pick another candidate, after which the candidates will have another month to campaign.
The new Bunge will have 324 legislators of which 232 will be constituency representatives, 75 for women’s special seats, 10 Union presidential nominees and 5 from the Zanzibar House of Representatives. There is one seat reserved for the attorney-general and another nominated representative.
The 75 special seats representing 30 percent allocated to women are awarded on a proportional basis to the number of valid votes a party wins. These seats are distributed proportionately by the Electoral Commission from lists submitted by political parties that have won at least five percent of the votes.
Women participation in governance, politics and decision-making has been increasing slowly, and some women also contest the constituency elections.
The National Assembly (Bunge) elected in 2000 contained a total of 295 seats, of which 232 seats are elected by popular vote in the “first past the post” constituency system, while the remaining seats are appointed, including guaranteed seats for women.
CCM held 254 seats in the outgoing legislature, CUF 22, Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) and the Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendelo (CHADEMA) both had 5, and the United Democratic Party (UDP) had 2. Seven seats were vacant, for a total of 295 seats.
The Union president, who is the head of state and government, is chosen with the vice-president through direct, equal and personal universal suffrage, and is elected by a simple majority of valid votes cast.
He is also commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces.
The United Republic of Tanzania holds elections at intervals of five years, and the last elections were held on 29 October 2000. Voter turnout in that election was 84.4 percent of registered voters for the presidential election and 72.8 percent for the Bunge. The number of voters who cast their ballots was just over 8 million.
The total population of the country is more than 34 million, according to a government census in 2002. The census showed the islands of Zanzibar with a population of almost one million and the remainder on the mainland.
Zanzibar holds its own elections for its president and national assembly, and these were won by CCM in the elections on the island which were held as scheduled on 30 October. CCM won 30 seats while CUF won 19, and there is one constituency election still to be held.
CUF has refused to recognise the government of President Amani Abeid Kadume, sworn in soon after the Zanzibar election results were confirmed.
CCM, currently the government of the Union as well as in Zanzibar, is expected to sweep the Union elections due to the policies of the outgoing president, Benjamin Mkapa, which have seen an economic turnaround with increased growth and low inflation.
Based on this record and the legacy of first post-independence president, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, the ruling CCM and its presidential candidate, Jakaya Kikwete, are expected to win the elections from a field of nine candidates.
The main challengers are Ibrahim Lipumba of the CUF and Augustine Mrema of the Tanzania Labour Party, who got 16.26 and 7.8 percent of the votes, respectively, in the 2000 elections, as well as Freeman Mbowe of CHADEMA.
The United Republic of Tanzania is an independent, unitary, sovereign and democratic state forged by two independent states – Tanganyika (independence 9 December 1961) and Zanzibar (independence 10 December 1963).
The Union was formalised on 26 April 1964 to build a unified society based on freedom, human rights and peaceful existence.
