AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW JOURNAL

To cite: E Mwanga ‘Who votes in Tanzania? An overview of the law and practices relating to
parliamentary elections’ (2022) 22
African Human Rights Law Journal 139-160
http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/1996-2096/2022/v22n1a6

Who votes in Tanzania? An

overview of the law and practices
relating to parliamentary elections

Elia Mwanga*
Lecturer, Department of Law, University of Dodoma, Tanzania
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1123-7209

Summary: The right to vote is among the pillars of a representative

democracy. The right promotes democracy by ensuring that citizens
participate indirectly in the affairs of the government of their country by
freely electing the leaders they want. This article examines the theoretical
and practical aspects of the right to vote in Tanzania. In particular, the
article provides a critical examination of the laws and practices relating
to parliamentary elections in Tanzania and their implications for the
right to vote. The article argues that the right to vote is not effectively
guaranteed in Tanzania, in law or in practice. In particular, the article
demonstrates that the electoral laws as well as practices in Tanzania
deny the citizens the right to freely elect their representatives/members
of parliament. The electoral law and related practices give a mandate to
few people who make decisions for the majority. The electoral laws and
practices make citizens the rubberstamp of decisions taken by the few
instead of their being the key decision makers.

* LLB (Hons) LLM PhD (Dar es Salaam); mwanga23@gmail.com

140 (2022) 22 AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW JOURNAL

Key words: political rights; right to vote; elections

1 Introduction
Tanzania claims to be a democratic state with a multiparty system
since 1992.1 The first general election under the multiparty system
was conducted in 1995.2 Among the key features of any democratic
state is the fact that governmental powers are exercised by all adult
citizens, either directly (in the case of a direct democracy) or through
freely-elected representatives (in the case of an indirect democracy,
as is the case in Tanzania).3 A democratic state is further characterised
by regular free and fair elections open to all citizens of voting age and
the participation of citizens in the political system of the country.4

Members of parliament normally are elected during general

elections. The general election occurs every five years. The general
election also involves election of the President and counsellors. This
article focuses on examining the laws that regulate parliamentary
elections and related practices. The aim is to establish the extent to
which the laws and practices promote the right of citizens to freely
choose/decide who should be their representative or member of
parliament.

However, before moving to the main discussion, it is important

at this juncture to point out that the Constitution of the United
Republic of Tanzania of 1977 (Constitution of Tanzania)5 creates
two governments, namely, the Government of the United Republic
(Union Government) and the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar
and two organs with legislative and supervisory powers, namely, the
Parliament of the United Republic and the House of Representatives
(for Zanzibar).6 Matters that are union-related are dealt with by
the Government of the United Republic. These union matters are
provided for in the First Schedule to the Constitution of Tanzania.7

1 The multiparty system was introduced in Tanzania through the Political Parties
Act of 1992. See K Tambila ‘The transition to multiparty democracy in Tanzania:
Some history and missed opportunities’ (1995) 28 Law and Politics in Africa, Asia
and Latin America 482.
2 M Nyirabu ‘The multiparty reform process in Tanzania: The dominance of the
ruling party’ (2002) 7 African Journal of Political Science 108.
3 G Clack (ed) Democracy in brief 3 https://kr.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/
sites/75/2017/04/Democracy-in-Brief_kor-1.pdf (accessed 20 April 2021).
4 As above.
5 As amended from time to time.
6 Art 4(2) Constitution of Tanzania.
7 The union between mainland Tanzania (the then Republic of Tanganyika) and the
People’s Republic of Zanzibar took place on 26 April 1964. During this time there
were 11 union matters, namely, the Constitution of Tanzania and Government
of the United Republic; external affairs; defence; police; emergency powers;
LAW AND PRACTICES IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN TANZANIA 141

On the other hand, matters that are not union-related and concern
Zanzibar are dealt with by the Revolutionary Government and non-
union matters that concern mainland Tanzania are dealt with by
the Union Government. A parliamentary election is not a union-
related matter. Therefore, there are different electoral laws and
different organs to supervise parliamentary elections for each part
of the union. Whereas in mainland Tanzania parliamentary elections
are supervised by the National Electoral Commission (NEC), in
Zanzibar the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) is responsible
for supervising parliamentary elections (elections for members of
the House of Representatives). This study focuses on the laws of
mainland Tanzania and to avoid confusion, the name ‘Tanzania’ as
used in this study, refers to mainland Tanzania.

The study is divided into several parts that entail a detailed

discussion on the right to vote in Tanzania. These parts include the
introduction followed by a discussion on ‘free and fair election’ in
the context of the Constitution of Tanzania. The article subsequently
examines the institutional framework for supervising elections
in Tanzania before examining the laws of Tanzania regarding
independent candidates. The other parts provide discussions on
voter registration; the qualifications of parliamentary candidates;
procedures for nominating parliamentary candidates; parliamentary
campaigns and general observations. The last part is the conclusion.

2 Free and fair elections: An overview of the

Constitution of Tanzania
In a representative democracy citizens participate in the affairs of
their country through representatives freely chosen during elections.
However, for citizens to be considered as having chosen their
representatives freely, the election should be free and fair. In the
context of parliamentary elections, a free and fair election is a process
that results in representatives or members of parliament being freely
elected by the citizens of their own will.

According to the 1994 Inter-Parliamentary Union Declaration on

Criteria for Free and Fair Elections8 government authority derives

citizenship; immigration; external trade and borrowing; the public service of the
united republic; taxes such as income tax, corporation tax, customs and excise
and harbours; civil aviation; and posts and telegraphs. Currently the number of
union matters has increased to 22.
8 The Inter-Parliamentary Union is a global organisation of national parliaments
dedicated to promoting peace through parliamentary diplomacy and dialogue.
The Declaration on Criteria for Free and Fair Elections was adopted on 26 March
1994 by the Inter-Parliamentary Council at its 154th session held in Paris.
142 (2022) 22 AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW JOURNAL

only ‘from the will of the people as expressed in genuine, free and
fair elections held at regular intervals on the basis of universal, equal
and secret suffrage’.9 A free and fair election requires every adult
citizen to be granted an equal right and opportunity to participate in
the election by voting and/or becoming a candidate in the election.
States thus have an obligation to take legislative measures that
guarantee that free and fair elections are conducted regularly.10

Furthermore, an election is said to be free and fair if all qualified

citizens are registered as voters and every voter can decide whether
or not to vote and can freely vote for the candidate or party of their
choice.11 A free and fair election also requires all registered political
parties to be availed of an equal right to contest the election and
persuade voters to vote for them.12 According to the survey of
various international conventions, a free and fair election has the
following key elements: genuine elections; universal suffrage; equal
suffrage; periodic elections; secret ballots; freedom of assembly; free
expression13 and freedom from discrimination.

As far as the laws of Tanzania are concerned, articles 5 and 21 of

the Constitution of Tanzania are relevant to free and fair elections.
Article 5 is specific on the right to vote. The right is guaranteed to
every citizen who is above 18 years of age and who is mentally fit.
The Constitution further prohibits the imposition of any other ground
that disqualifies the citizen from exercising the right to vote, save for
the grounds provided for in the Constitution.14 These grounds are
discussed in detail in subsequent parts of the article.

Article 21 relates to public participation in public affairs. The article

gives the right to every citizen ‘to take part in matters pertaining
to the governance of the country, either directly or through
representatives freely elected by the people’.15 Article 21 suggests
that a representative of the people in a representative democracy is
elected freely by the people. There can be no free will of the people to
elect representatives of their choice if there is no free and fair election.
Therefore, a free and fair election guarantees the participation of all

9 Inter-Parliamentary Council ‘Declaration on Criteria for Free and Fair Elections’,

http://archive.ipu.org/cnl-e/154-free.htm (accessed 8 November 2021).
10 GS Goodwin-Gill Free and fair elections (2006) 8-11.
11 Civics Academy ‘What are free and fair elections’ Civics Academy (blog), https://
www.civicsacademy.co.za/video/free-and-fair-elections/ (accessed 20 April
2021).
12 As above.
13 A Kasumov ‘International free and fair election instruments developed by UN
and OSCE’ (2012) 15 Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Science 47, https://
doi.org/10.5782/2223-2621.2012.15.42 (accessed 8 November 2021).
14 Arts 5(1) & (2) Constitution of Tanzania.
15 Art 21(1) Constitution of Tanzania.
LAW AND PRACTICES IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN TANZANIA 143

citizens in electing members of parliament. Furthermore, a free and

fair election gives legitimacy to the chosen members of parliament.
In other words, it is the free and fair election that guarantees citizens
the right to vote for representatives of their own choice.

3 An institutional framework for the supervision of

parliamentary elections
The institution responsible for supervising all parliamentary elections
in Tanzania is the National Electoral Commission (NEC). The NEC
is established under article 74(1) of the Constitution of Tanzania.
It is responsible for the registration of voters and supervising the
conduct of presidential, parliamentary and councillor elections.
The NEC is composed of a chairperson, a vice-chairperson, one
member from the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) (the Bar association
of Tanzania mainland) and four other members with adequate
experience in elections.16 The director of elections is the secretary to
the Commission and the chief executive.17 All the above members
are appointees of the President.18 The President also is vested with
powers to remove any member of the NEC from office for reasons
of illness, a failure to perform his duties, misconduct or for any other
reason.19 Other staff of the NEC are the returning officers. The law
designates all city, municipal, town directors and district executive
directors to be returning officers.20 These also are appointees of the
President.

The structure and composition of the NEC raises an important

question as to its independence and impartiality when performing
its functions. Since its establishment in 1993, the debate over the
question of the independence of the NEC remains unresolved.
Makulilo argues that the NEC ‘does not pass the basic tests of an
independent institution and hence its credibility is questionable’.21
The NEC is accused of being attached to the government and the
ruling party and further that it performs its functions in favour of the
ruling party.22 The President, who appoints members of the NEC, is
affiliated to one of the political parties. In fact, the practice has been
that the President, who is the head of state, is also the chairperson of

16 Sec 4(1) National Elections Act 2015.

17 Art 74(7) Constitution of Tanzania.
18 Art 74(1) Constitution of Tanzania; sec 4(4) National Elections Act.
19 Art 74(5) Constitution of Tanzania.
20 Sec 7(2) National Elections Act.
21 AB Makulilo ‘Independent electoral commission in Tanzania: A false debate?’
(2009) 45 Representation 435, https://doi.org/10.1080/00344890903257409
(accessed 11 November 2021).
22 As above.
144 (2022) 22 AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW JOURNAL

the ruling party – Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM).23 Further experience

shows that most city, municipal, town and district directors who act
as returning officers during parliamentary elections are appointed
from among members of the ruling party. In fact, some of these are
parliamentary contestants that were not elected or that were not
nominated by the ruling party.24

In the case of Attorney General & Others v Bob Chacha Wangwe

the impartiality and independence of the returning officers were
questioned before a court of law. The petitioner, Bob Chacha
Wange, sought to challenge the constitutionality of the provisions of
the Elections Act that designated city, municipal, town and district
directors to act as returning officers during elections. Central to the
argument of the petitioner was that section 7(1) of the National
Elections Act, among other sections, is contrary to article 21 of the
Constitution of Tanzania which guarantees, among others, free and
fair elections. The petitioner was of the view that it is practically
impossible for the returning officers, who are the appointees of the
President, to act independently and with impartiality during election
supervisions. The High Court of Tanzania accepted the arguments
of the petitioner and continued to hold that section 7(1) of the
National Elections Act was unconstitutional and thus did not uphold
the principles of free and fair elections. The above decision of the
High Court was overturned by the Court of Appeal of Tanzania (the
final appellate court in Tanzania) which argued that the law put in
place safeguards that ensure the independence and impartiality of
the returning officers.

Nevertheless, the decision of the Court of Appeal has not settled

the debate on the question about the independence of the NEC.
Acts such as the unfair removal of opposition candidates from the
nomination list25 and the unequal treatment of political parties
during the election period26 have caused unopposed candidates and
others to continue to raise the alarm about the NEC’s independence.
The fact that a country holds regular elections is not sufficient to
show that the country is democratic if the institution responsible

23 CCM has been the ruling party in Tanzania since it was found on 5 February
1977.
24 See the case of Attorney General & Others v Bob Chacha Wangwe Civil Appeal 138
of 2019.
25 Amnesty International ‘Lawfare: Repression by law ahead of Tanzania’s
general elections’ (2020) 10, https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/
uploads/2021/05/AFR5630512020ENGLISH.pdf (accessed 11 November 2020).
26 Tanzania Elections Watch ‘Final observation report on the general elections
held in Tanzania on October 28, 2020: Not free, not fair’ (2021) 16, https://
tanzaniaelectionswatch.org/download/tanzania-elections-watch-final-report/#
(accessed 11 November 2021).
LAW AND PRACTICES IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN TANZANIA 145

for supervising elections is not ‘politically neutral, professional and

committed to democratic values’.27 To sum up the discussion, for an
election supervisory body to be regarded as independent it should
have the following attributes: fiscally autonomous; a durable tenure
of office for commissioners that is protected by the Constitution; an
autonomous structure that is free from the government of the day or
any political party; impartiality; an inclusive appointment procedure
for the members of the body after consultation with various
stakeholders; professional competence of its staff; transparency in
decision-making processes and the capacity to make and enforce
decisions by the body.28

4 Independent candidates
The term ‘independent candidate’ denotes a parliamentary candidate
who is not affiliated to any registered political party.29 It refers to
a parliamentary candidate whose nomination is not subject to
appointment or endorsement by a political party.30 In this study the
phrase ‘independent candidate’ is used to refer to a parliamentary
candidate who is not sponsored by any registered political party.

An independent candidate is not only a common phenomenon

in democratic elections but also is a recurring expression in the
field of human rights. It is well settled that a country that observes
democracy as well as human rights will not prohibit its citizens
from contesting an election merely on the ground that they are
not members of or are not affiliated to a political party. Article 25
of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),
to which Tanzania is a party, having ratified it in 1976, protects the
right and opportunity of citizens to vote and to be elected. ICCPR
further requires citizens to exercise the right to vote ‘without any
of the distinctions mentioned in article 2 and without unreasonable
restrictions’. Requiring a parliamentary contestant to affiliate to
a political party is said to be in violation of free and fair elections
since it imposes an unreasonable or discriminatory disqualifying
factor. As such, state parties to ICCPR are required to discourage

27 N Cheeseman & J Elklit,‘Understanding and assessing electoral commission

independence: A new framework’ (2020) 6, https://www.wfd.org/wp-content/
uploads/2021/03/WFD_A-new-framework-for-understanding-and-assessing-
electoral-comission-independence.pdf (accessed 11 November 2021).
28 Makulilo (n 21) 437.
29 D Brancati ‘Winning alone: The electoral fate of independent candidates
worldwide’ (2008) 70 The Journal of Politics 650.
30 P Ehin et al ‘Independent candidates in national and European elections’ (2013) 11,
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/etudes/join/2013/493008/
IPOL-AFCO_ET(2013)493008_EN.pdf (accessed 9 November 2021).
146 (2022) 22 AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW JOURNAL

these discriminatory practices both in their laws and practice. In its

General Comment 25 the United Nations Human Rights Committee
emphasised that ‘the right of persons to stand for election should
not be limited unreasonably by requiring candidates to be members
of parties or of specific parties’.31 In relation to the right of citizens to
vote for a representative of their own choice, the prohibition of an
independent candidate denies citizens an opportunity to vote for the
person they wish to elect, especially when that person is refused an
opportunity by his party to contest a parliamentary election.

The Constitution of Tanzania makes it a mandatory requirement

for parliamentary candidates to be a member of a registered political
party. The NEC cannot nominate a person to be a parliamentary
candidate if that person is not sponsored by a political party.32 In
2005 the provision of the Constitution prohibiting private candidates
was successfully challenged in the High Court of Tanzania in the case
of Reverend Christopher Mtikila v Attorney General.33 The High Court
nullified this provision of the Constitution on the ground that it was
unconstitutional. Nevertheless, this decision of the High Court was
overruled by the Court of Appeal of Tanzania in 2009.34 Later, in
2011, Reverend Mtikila and two non-governmental organisations
brought an application to the African Court on Human and Peoples’
Rights (African Court) to challenge the prohibition of independent
candidates.35 The Court held that the prohibition of independent
candidates infringes the African Charter, article 13(1), in particular,
which protects the right of citizens to participate in the government
of their country. The African Court also found that the prohibition
prevented Tanzanians from participating in the government of their
country through freely-chosen representatives. The Court further
found that the prohibition against independent candidates violated
the right to freedom of association. To remedy the violations found,
the African Court ordered Tanzania to implement constitutional,
legislative and other necessary measures within a reasonable time

31 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights ‘General Comment 25: The
right to participate in public affairs, voting rights and the right of equal access
to public service’ para 17, https://www.equalrightstrust.org/ertdocumentbank/
general%20comment%2025.pdf (accessed 21 April 2021). Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights https://github.com/citation-style-language/
schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json (accessed 21 April 2021).
32 Art 21 of the Constitution subjects the enjoyment of the right to, among others,
art 67 of the Constitution. Art 67 requires a person who desires to be elected
member of parliament to be a member of a registered political party.
33 Misc Civil Cause 10 of 2005.
34 See Honourable Attorney General v Reverend Christopher Mtikila Civil Appeal 45 of
2009 Court of Appeal of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam.
35 See In the Consolidated Matters of the Tanganyika Law Society and the Legal and
Human Rights Centre v the United Republic of Tanzania Application 9 of 20111;
and Christopher R Mtikila v the United Republic of Tanzania Application 11 of
2011.
LAW AND PRACTICES IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN TANZANIA 147

and to report the measures taken to the Court. However, to date the
Tanzanian constitutional and legislative framework remains the same.
No effort has been put in place to allow independent candidates.

After having been elected, a member of parliament may

cease to be a member of a political party to which he belonged
when he was elected. Should this happen, article 71(1)(c) of the
Constitution of Tanzania is clear that such a member ceases to be
the member of parliament and is required to vacate the National
Assembly. From past experience a member of parliament normally
loses his membership of a political party mainly by being expelled or
resigning his membership. Where the person ceases to be a member
of parliament, a by-election must be conducted to fill such vacancy.36
In practice, the political party sponsoring the respective member of
parliament whose membership has been stripped or has ceased will
write officially to the Speaker of the National Assembly to inform him
about that fact. Having received the information, the Speaker will
notify the NEC to make a formal declaration that there is a vacancy
in a seat of the member of parliament.37 Upon such a declaration the
NEC then will conduct a by-election to fill the vacancy (in the case of
an elected member of parliament). Recent experience suggests that
the NEC will not conduct a by-election if the Speaker of the National
Assembly acts irresponsibly by not making a formal declaration as
required by law. Thus, there can be members of parliament who do
not belong to any political party. For instance, the 19 expelled CDM
members who are in parliament belong to no party. They are illegal
members of parliament or rather, they are in parliament illegally
following the Speaker’s irresponsible conduct.38

By requiring members of parliament to be members of a political

party, the Constitution of Tanzania limits the right of citizens to
elect the representatives they want. The Constitution further makes

36 See Art 76(2) Constitution of Tanzania.

37 Sec 37(3) National Elections Act.
38 On May 2020 Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA), the main
opposition party in Tanzania, expelled its four members of parliament from
the party. The party wrote to the Speaker of the National Assembly informing
him of the expulsion. However, the Speaker objected to the expulsion and
decided to continue to recognise the expelled members of parliament. The
same event occurred in November 2020, when 19 members of parliament from
CHADEMA were expelled from the party. The same Speaker who objected to
the former expulsion also objected to this latter expulsion. In all incidents the
expelled members of the parliament continued to save in their posts contrary
to the requirement of the Constitution of Tanzania. See B Kiango & E Msuya
‘Chadema expelled MPs saga in new turn’ The Citizen 20 January 2021, https://
www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/news/-chadema-expelled-mps-saga-in-new-
turn-3262894; Daily News Reporter ‘Ndugai slums unwarranted expulsion of
MPs’ Daily News 4 November 2020, https://dailynews.co.tz/news/2020-05-
125eba36b5f2e12.aspx (accessed 8 November 2021).
148 (2022) 22 AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW JOURNAL

members of parliament accountable to their political party rather

than to the voters. The prohibition subjects the fate of the member
of the parliament in the National Assembly to be in the hands of
political parties. It is for this reason that members of parliament in
Tanzania hesitate to criticise their party’s leaders for fear of being
expelled and consequently losing their seat in parliament.39

5 Voter registration
Voter registration is among the important safeguards for ensuring
‘equal and universal participation of eligible voters in a given
election’.40 Voter registration allows the NEC to know the number of
registered voters. Knowing the number of registered voters helps in
making various important decisions such as the number and location
of polling stations as well as poling facilities and materials required.

Voter registration is required to be transparent, accurate and

inclusive.41 Voters should have an opportunity to inspect the voter
register, to correct their details prior to the election date and to
object to the inclusion of any unqualified voter in the voter register.

In Tanzania a citizen who is allowed to vote is one whose name

appears in the Permanent National Voters’ Register. Before preparing
the final copy of the Permanent National Voters’ Register, the NEC will
issue a Provisional Voters’ Register which gives citizens the opportunity
to amend their details, for the inclusion of new voters and objections
to the inclusion of ineligible voters.42 Electoral laws identify persons
who lack qualification to be registered in the Permanent National
Voters’ Register and consequently are unqualified to vote in that
general election. Apart from non-citizens, persons of unsound mind
and persons below the age of 18 years on the election date, persons
serving imprisonment sentences exceeding six months, detained

39 In all the above incidents of expulsion of members of parliament from

CHADEMA, the main reason was the failure on the part of the expelled members
of parliament to comply with orders issued by the party. In the former incident
where four members of parliament from CDM were expelled from the party, it
was due to their attendance of the sessions of the National Assembly, contrary
to the order issued by the chairperson of the party requiring all members of
parliament from CDM to boycott the sessions of the National Assembly as a way
of expressing their dissatisfaction with the way in which the government was
handling the COVID-19 pandemic. In the latter incident the reason was that the
expelled members agreed to take an appointment for members of parliament
through special seats contrary to the order issued by the party not to recognise
the 2020 general election results.
40 Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Organisation) (ed)
Handbook for the observation of voter registration (2012) 6.
41 As above.
42 Sec 11A National Elections Act.
LAW AND PRACTICES IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN TANZANIA 149

criminal lunatic and persons detained at the pleasure of the President

are also excluded from being registered in the Permanent National
Voters’ Register.43

Unlike Tanzania, many African countries, such as South Africa,

Ghana and Kenya, are recognising the right of prisoners to vote.44
This movement is in line with various international legal instruments
including ICCPR,45 and regional human rights instruments, mainly
the African Charter.46 Taking into consideration the fact that Tanzania
is a party to the above legal instruments, it needs to honour its
commitments by allowing prisoners to vote during general elections.

6 Constitutional qualifications
A person aspiring to contest the parliamentary election is required
to meet the conditions prescribed in article 67 of the Constitution
of Tanzania. The parliamentary candidate must be a citizen of the
United Republic of Tanzania, who is not younger than 21 years and
who is a member of and is a candidate proposed by a registered
political party.47 As pointed out earlier in the discussion, the laws do
not allow a person to contest a parliamentary post as an independent
candidate. The reforms that were to be introduced by the Proposed
Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 2014 allowed
an independent candidate to contest parliamentary elections.48
However, the intended constitutional reforms were abandoned by the
fifth-phase government.49 Moreover, the parliamentary candidate is
required to have the ability to read and write in English or Swahili.50

A person is disqualified to contest the position of member of

parliament if such person is of unsound mind and if the person was
previously convicted and sentenced to death or to imprisonment
for an offence involving dishonesty or violating laws concerning the
ethical conduct of public leaders.51 Other qualifications for one to
contest the position of member of parliament are contained in the

43 Sec 11 National Elections Act.

44 Africa Criminal Justice Reform ‘The right of prisoners to vote in Africa: An update’
Fact Sheet (2020 ) 1, https://acjr.org.za/resource-centre/fact-sheet-17-prisoners-
vote.pdf (accessed 8 November 2021).
45 As above.
46 See art 13(1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
47 Art 67(1) Constitution of Tanzania.
48 Art 140(1)(c) Proposed Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 2014.
49 The fifth phase government as used in this study refers to the government that
was formed by the fifth President of Tanzania; the late Dr John Jospeh Pombe
Magufuli.
50 Art 67(1)(a) Constitution of Tanzania.
51 Art 67(2) Constitution of Tanzania.
150 (2022) 22 AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW JOURNAL

laws providing for the nomination of parliamentary candidates, as

discussed earlier.

Save for the requirement that a person contesting parliamentary

election should be a member of a registered political party, other
qualifications cannot be considered as unreasonable or discriminatory
qualifications. No level of education is required. Practically, the
National Assembly of Tanzania has been composed of persons with
high academic qualifications, such as professors and holders of
doctoral degrees, persons with middling academic qualifications and
others with very low academic qualifications, for instance, standard
seven-leavers.

7 Procedures for nominating parliamentary

candidates
The procedures for nominating parliamentary candidates involve
three stages, namely, nomination by political parties, nomination by
the NEC and the objection stage.

7.1 Nomination by political parties

The procedures for nominating parliamentary candidates start at

the party level. A person aspiring to contest parliamentary elections
needs be proposed or nominated by his political party. Each political
party will propose a person it wishes to be nominated by the NEC as
its parliamentary candidate for a particular constituency. There are
no uniform regulations or procedures for nominating parliamentary
candidates at party level. Each political party has its own regulations
providing the procedures for nominating parliamentary candidates.
Some political parties use fully participatory methods for nominating
parliamentary candidates, whereas others use partially participatory
methods. Some parties opt for a top-down method where the
nomination of a parliamentary candidate is made by the party
leaders.52

In the 2010 general election Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) was

one of the parties that exercised a fully participatory method during
party nominations. In this type of nomination members of the
party are given the opportunity to cast preferential votes for party

52 TEMCO ‘The 2010 Tanzania general elections: Report of the Tanzania Election
Monitoring Committee (TEMCO)’ (2011) 27, http://www.temco.udsm.ac.tz/
images/stories/TEMCO_Reports/TEMCO_REPORT_2010_GENERAL_ELECTION_
ENGLISH_VERSION.pdf (accessed 10 November 2020).
LAW AND PRACTICES IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN TANZANIA 151

members who are seeking the endorsement of the party to stand

for parliamentary election.53 After the preferential vote, district and
regional party committees decide who among the applicants should
represent the party in the parliamentary election. The final party
decision or nomination is made by the party’s National Executive
Committee.54 The party’s National Executive Committee has overall
powers as far as the nomination of parliamentary candidates is
concerned. The Committee may nominate a candidate other than
the candidate proposed by party members during preferential voting
or a candidate proposed by the district or regional party committees.
The decision of the party’s National Executive Committee is final.55
However, in the 2020 election CCM abandoned the fully participatory
method; instead, a partial participatory approach was adopted.

In a partially participatory method a limited number of members

cast preferential votes and the higher party authority makes the
final nomination.56 CDM is among the parties that often nominate
their parliamentary candidates by way of the partially participatory
method. In this method the members of the constituency or district
meeting cast preferential votes and forward their opinion to the
party’s National Executive Committee which is responsible for
making the final nomination. The members of the constituency or
district meeting include the party’s ward chairpersons, secretaries,
treasurers and others.57 To put it simply, not every member of the
party is allowed to cast a preferential vote in the partially participatory
method.

A brief observation on the procedures for nominating parliamentary

candidates at party level is that the political parties are free to choose
persons they wish to be their parliamentary candidates. The laws
do not prescribe procedures that the parties should follow when
nominating their parliamentary candidates. A further observation is
that although some political parties have participatory procedures of
nominating parliamentary candidates these do not guarantee that

53 As above.
54 CCM Constitution of Chama Cha Mapinduzi 1977 (Revised 2017, CCM 2017)
art 102(10)(g), https://ccm.or.tz/website/nyaraka/nyaraka_file/2020-12-11%20
13:23:48_Katiba%20ya%20CCM%202017%20(dec%202018).pdf (accessed
9 November 2021).
55 Experience also shows that in some cases some party members who were
aggrieved by decisions of the party’s National Executive Committee to nominate
a person other than the one nominated by members of the party resigned their
membership and joined other political parties. Some of these members would
contest the same parliamentary elections through their new political parties.
56 TEMCO (n 52) 27.
57 CHADEMA Constitution of Chama Cha Demokrasia Na Maendeleo (2016) art 7.4.5,
http://chadema.or.tz/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/KATIBA-YA-CHADEMA-YA-
MWAKA-2006-TOLEO-LA-MWAKA-2016.pdf (accessed 10 November 2021).
152 (2022) 22 AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW JOURNAL

the will of the majority will prevail. The reasons are that final decisions
are made by a few persons, usually party leaders who have overriding
powers over decisions of party members. Moreover, during party
nomination candidates are accused of influencing the nomination
procedures through corruption and other manipulations.58

7.2 Nomination by the National Electoral Commission

Nomination by NEC involves the following steps: First, the NEC will
set a nomination date59 and specify the date for issuing nomination
forms to the candidates nominated by their respective political
parties.60 The NEC will set a single day for issuing nomination forms,
usually from 08:00 to 22:00. If the candidate nominated by its
political party fails to obtain nomination forms in that period, he
or she forfeits the opportunity to be nominated by the NEC and
consequently loses their right to stand for parliamentary election.
It means that the political party whose candidate fails to obtain
nomination forms will not have a contestant in that constituency.

Before the candidate is issued with nomination forms, he or she

will have to provide the returning officers with an introduction letter
to prove that the candidate is sponsored by a political party.61 The
candidate then will complete and submit, during the nomination day,
four copies of the nomination forms.62 The nomination forms require
the personal particulars of the proposed candidate; a declaration
that the proposed candidate is willing and qualified to contest the
parliamentary election; certification by the regional/district secretary
of the political party sponsoring the candidate; a declaration by the
nominators/supporters nominating the candidate;63 and a statutory
declaration that the candidate meets the conditions set under article
67 of the Constitution.64 Further, the candidate is required to make

58 TEMCO (n 52) 20.

59 Sec 37(1) Tanzania Elections Act.
60 Reg 24(1) National Elections (Presidential and Parliamentary Election)
Regulations of 2020.
61 Regs 24(2) & 7(3) National Elections (Presidential and Parliamentary Election)
Regulations.
62 Form 8B; see the first Schedule to the National Elections (Presidential and
Parliamentary Election) Regulations.
63 The National Elections Act requires a parliamentary candidate to be nominated/
supported by no fewer than 25 nominators who are registered voters in the
district of the constituency where the candidate is contesting is located. See sec
38(1).
64 Reg 31(2) National Elections (Presidential and Parliamentary Election)
Regulations, read together with First Schedule to the Regulations Form 10.
LAW AND PRACTICES IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN TANZANIA 153

a declaration that he or she will abide by the electoral code of

conduct.65

The date and time for submitting completed nomination forms

is set by the NEC.66 If the candidate proposed by his political
party fails to submit the completed nomination forms plus other
attachments during the prescribed time for submitting nomination
forms, they forfeit the right to contest that parliamentary election.
The completed parliamentary forms are submitted to the returning
officers.67 Regulation 27 of the National Elections (Presidential and
Parliamentary Election) Regulations requires the returning officers
or assistant returning officers, ‘upon being satisfied that a proposed
candidate qualifies to be nominated, certify the nomination in Form
No 8B’. However, the decision of returning officers to nominate
parliamentary candidates is not final. The nomination can be
challenged, as discussed in the next part. If evidence is brought
forward to prove the contrary, the nomination will be revoked.

The electoral law addresses the situation where there is only one
nominated candidate (unopposed candidate) in a constituency. In
particular, the parliamentary election regulations provide that where
a single candidate is nominated the nominated candidate will be
considered elected and waiting to assume office in the parliament
upon taking the oath.68 The law requires the NEC to publish in the
Government Gazette a notice declaring unopposed candidates as
being elected.69 After such a declaration, citizens do not have an
opportunity to cast a vote.

In practice, several circumstances may have an influence on there

being an unopposed candidate. These include there being only one
candidate nominated to stand for parliamentary election in that
constituency; other nominated candidates fail to obtain nomination
forms or fail to return completed nomination forms in the prescribed
time; the returning officer nominates one candidate on the ground

65 Regs 26(3) & (4) National Elections (Presidential and Parliamentary Election)
Regulations.
66 Reg 25(1) National Elections (Presidential and Parliamentary Election)
Regulations.
67 The returning officers are vested with powers to oversee parliamentary elections
in constituencies. Among other functions, returning officers are responsible to
issue and receive nomination forms, to nominate parliamentary candidates in
their respective constituencies and to hear and determine objections to the
nomination of parliamentary candidates. See sec 7 of the National Elections Act;
sec 7 and reg 25(1) National Elections (Presidential and Parliamentary Election)
Regulations.
68 Sec 44 National Elections Act and Reg 28 National Elections (Presidential and
Parliamentary Election) Regulations.
69 Sec 44 National Elections Act.
154 (2022) 22 AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW JOURNAL

that other candidates do not meet the conditions prescribed by the

law; and a candidate successfully objects to the nomination of the
other candidates that were nominated by the returning officer to
contest the same constituency.70

The candidate may be elected unopposed because the members

of the constituency they represent wish him/her to continue to
represent them in parliament or because there is no other person
to challenge their candidature, nevertheless, the laws and practices
relating to unopposed candidates are questionable. The concept of
unopposed candidates has been associated with the deterioration of
democracy and an infringement of the right of the citizens to vote
and to be elected. Usually, in many constituencies where candidates
are elected unopposed, there have been claims by various groups
that other candidates have been unfairly removed from the list of
nominated candidates.71

The reactions of human rights and good governance activists

to the laws and practices relating to unopposed candidates often
are negative. In their 2010 election report the Tanzania Election
Monitoring Committee (TEMCO) noted that being elected
unopposed is a shortcut to victory and ‘clever and unscrupulous
politicians’ use weaknesses in election laws to maximise the chance of
being declared a member of parliament without going to the ballot
box.72 Circumstances in the manner in which unopposed candidates
are passed also are doubtful. Returning officers have been accused
of assisting unethical contestants to pass unopposed. For instance,
in one constituency, in the 2010 general election a parliamentary
candidate who had not been nominated was refused appeal forms
by the returning officer.73 Since appeal is a right of a candidate, it
may be concluded that the returning officer purposefully refused
the appellant appeal forms in order to assist the candidate from
another political party to be elected unopposed. In another incident

70 A detailed discussion of the laws and practices relating to the objections against
parliamentary candidature is provided in the preceding part.
71 TEMCO (n 35) 36.
72 As above.
73 As above. In the above incident a candidate from CCM for Nyamagana
constituency in Mwanza successfully objected to the nomination of the
candidate from CHADEMA. The returning officer thus declared CCM candidates
to have been elected unopposed. The CDM candidate wished to appeal to the
NEC but the returning officer refused to issue him with an appeal form (Form
9B). The CDM candidate must collect the form from NEC headquarters, at Dar
es Salaam. During the election the CDM candidate was elected as a member of
parliament.
LAW AND PRACTICES IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN TANZANIA 155

a candidate disappeared on the day of the return of nomination

forms. Efforts to locate the candidate were in vain.74

Since 2005 the number of parliamentary candidates elected

unopposed has increased significantly. The number of candidates
who were elected unopposed was eight in 2005, in 2010 this number
doubled.75 In 2015 the number of candidates declined to one76 but
in 2020 the number increased to 28 candidates.77 Moreover, the
trend has been that since 2005, only parliamentary candidates from
one political party, CCM, the ruling party, are elected unopposed
in general elections. This fact creates the sense that the laws and
practices relating to unopposed candidates provide an opportunity
for the abuse of the electoral laws by corrupt returning officers and/
or government officials.

7.3 Objecting to the nomination of a parliamentary candidate

and hearing procedures

Parliamentary electoral laws allow objections against the candidature

of any nominated candidate on several grounds. These grounds
include that the particulars of the candidate are not sufficient to
identify him; that the nomination forms do not comply with the
law and that the candidate has not complied with the requirements
of the laws.78 This last ground focuses on the legal/substantive
qualifications of the candidate. In particular, the last ground aims at
ensuring that the nominated candidate meets the conditions set by
the Constitution of Tanzania and other electoral laws of the country
and, generally, the ground is in conformity with the provisions of
the Constitution. On the other hand, the first and second grounds
do not concern the legal/substantive qualifications of the candidate
but are concerned with the way in which the candidate’s nomination
form is completed. The grounds are more of the nature of procedural
requirements than substantive requirements. To be more precise,
the grounds focus on minor mistakes that can be corrected,
without infringing the provisions of the Constitution, regarding the
qualifications for one to stand for parliamentary election.

74 TEMCO ‘Report on the 2015 election in Tanzania’ (May 2016) 91, http://www.
temco.udsm.ac.tz/index.php/publications/reports/reports-2016 (accessed
8 November 2021).
75 TEMCO (n 52) 36.
76 National Electoral Commission ‘Taarifa ya Tume ya Taifa ya Uchaguzi kuhusu
uchaguzi wa rais, wabunge na madiwani, 2015’ (2016) 47.
77 Government Notice 917 of 2020.
78 Sec 40(1) National Elections Act.
156 (2022) 22 AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW JOURNAL

The returning officers are vested with powers to certify that the
nomination forms conform to the requirements of the law, and
further to nominate the candidate having certified that the candidate
qualifies to be nominated. This means that the returning officers
inspect the forms to ensure that the forms are in conformity with the
laws. They are able to identify minor errors, including typographical
errors, lack of attachments and others. It is the view of the author
that since these minor errors do not diminish the constitutional
qualifications to be nominated as parliamentary candidate, instead
of allowing for objections at a later period, the returning officers
could require the candidate to correct the mistakes before they
officially receive the candidate’s nomination forms. This practice
means, when the nomination forms are received by the returning
officer, the forms comply with all procedural requirements. There
could be an exception where the candidate refuses to correct the
errors after being asked to do so by the returning officer.

Not very person can object to the nomination of the parliamentary

candidate. Persons with the right to object to the nomination of
the parliamentary candidate are the returning officers, the registrar
of political parties, the director of elections and parliamentary
candidates.79 Objections are made in writing and these have to be
lodged with the returning officer within 24 hours from the time of
nomination.80 The above requirement does not apply to objections
made by returning officers.81

The powers to hear and make decisions on the parliamentary

nomination objections are vested in the returning officers and the
NEC. By vesting the returning officers with the power to decide
on objections made, there are two assumptions: first, that the
returning officer is vested with powers to revise his or her own
decision to nominate a parliamentary candidate and, second, that
the nomination by the returning officer is provisional and would be
conclusive if no objection is made within time. The latter assumption
makes greater sense than the former.

The candidate against whom the objection is made has to be

notified of the objection and must be availed of an opportunity

79 Sec 40(20) National Elections Act and Reg 30(1) National Elections (Presidential
and Parliamentary Election) Regulations.
80 Reg 30(2) National Elections (Presidential and Parliamentary Election)
Regulations.
81 Sec 40(5) National Elections Act. If an objection is made by the returning officer,
the officer is required to inform the respective candidate in writing about the
objection before making his finding. After making his finding he has to forward
same to the NEC.
LAW AND PRACTICES IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN TANZANIA 157

to reply to the objection before the retuning officer makes his or

her decision on the objection.82 If satisfied with the grounds of the
objection, the returning officer can delete the name of the candidate
from the list of nominated candidates.83

A parliamentary candidate aggrieved by the decision of the

returning officer can appeal to the NEC within 24 hours from the
decision of the returning officer.84 During appeals determination, the
NEC has powers to remove the candidate from the list of nominated
candidates or to reinstate the candidate whose name was removed
from the list of nominated candidates by the returning officer.85 The
decision of the NEC can be challenged by way of an election petition
after the conclusion of the election.86

It is important to note that the NEC does not deal with

parliamentary candidates’ objection appeals only, but also deals
with presidential candidates’ objections as well as the counsellorship
candidates’ objection appeals. Therefore, the process of determining
parliamentary objection appeals may take a long time, which may
impact the campaign schedules of the reinstated candidates.

8 Parliamentary campaigns
Parliamentary campaigns begin immediately after nomination and
end the day preceding election day. The laws do not explicitly
state how many days are available to the parliamentary candidate
to conduct a campaign, however, reading through the provisions
providing for the appointment of the election date, the days
available for parliamentary campaigns should be at least 60 days and
a maximum of 90 days.87 This does not mean that all parliamentary
candidates in a constituency or throughout the country should
have an equal number of days for campaigning. This is because
the period that is set for hearing and determining objections and
appeals runs concurrently with the campaign period. Therefore,
those parliamentary candidates who appeal against the removal of
their names from the list of nominated candidates will have to wait

82 Sec 40(4) National Elections Act.

83 Reg 30(6) National Elections (Presidential and Parliamentary Election)
Regulations.
84 Sec 40(6) National Elections (Presidential and Parliamentary Election)
Regulations.
85 Reg 32(4) National Elections (Presidential and Parliamentary Election)
Regulations.
86 Reg 32(6) National Elections (Presidential and Parliamentary Election)
Regulations.
87 Sec 46(1) National Elections Act.
158 (2022) 22 AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW JOURNAL

for the final decision of the NEC to learn whether their names have
been reinstated. During this period when the appellants are waiting
for the final decision, other parliamentary candidates continue
with their election campaigns. It follows, therefore, that even if
the appellants succeed in their appeal, they will have fewer days
for campaigning compared to their fellow parliamentary candidates
whose nominations were not challenged.

In the 2020 parliamentary election parliamentary campaigns

started on 26 August and ended on 27 October 2020. The NEC
started to determine nomination objection appeals on 8 September
2020 and finalised the work on 17 September, 23 days after the
start of the campaigns. During the above-mentioned period the NEC
determined 160 parliamentary objection appeals out of which 66
appeals succeeded and the candidates whose names were removed
from the list of nominated candidates were reinstated.88 It should
further be noted that the decisions of the NEC are communicated
officially by letter addressed to the appellant. Thus, the reinstated
candidates had to wait for the official letters from the NEC before
starting their campaigns. The waiting period took some days, since
there were many objection-appeals. Therefore, some parliamentary
candidates found themselves losing up to half of the total period
available for campaigns. That being the case, the reinstated
parliamentary candidates had to reschedule their campaign
timetables and some candidates could not reach all members of the
community or areas in their respective constituencies due to a lack
of time.

9 General observations
Tanzanian parliamentary election laws and practices contain several
weaknesses that deny citizens the right to vote for the members
of parliament they wish to elect. Generally, the weaknesses in the
laws and practices are a result of vesting powers in the hands of
a few people to decide who is to be member of parliament. In
the end, citizens become rubberstamps of the decisions of the
few. In particular, weaknesses include the lack of democratic and
participatory procedures for nominating parliamentary candidates at
the party level. Even in the case of some political parties that involve
party members at an early stage, the political party leaders have
overriding powers to nominate parliamentary candidates who will
represent the party in the parliamentary elections.

88 https://www.nec.go.tz/uploads/documents/sw/1600449332-09-18-2020-
17.29.31.pdf (accessed 21 September 2020).
LAW AND PRACTICES IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN TANZANIA 159

Another notable weakness is the prohibition on private candidates.

This prohibition causes members of parliament to be more loyal
to their political party and party leaders than to the voters. The
prohibition also limits the right of voters to vote for the representatives
of their choice. Furthermore, the prohibition contributes to the abuse
of powers by party leaders, especially in endorsing their friends to
contest parliamentary elections.

The laws and practices for nominating parliamentary candidates

by the NEC enable a limited number of people to determine who
is to be a member of parliament in a particular constituency. This is
true with respect to the laws and practices relating to unopposed
candidates. The laws and practices relating to the endorsement of
unopposed candidates take away the rights of citizens to elect their
own members of parliament by providing an opportunity for the
returning officers illegally to remove contestants from parliamentary
elections. It is advised that in order to ensure that citizens exercise
their rights to vote and, further, in order to reduce the abuse of
parliamentary electoral laws, where a single candidate is nominated
in the constituency, the candidate should equally be subjected to a
vote.89

Furthermore, the institution responsible for supervising

parliamentary elections is not independent. The President, who is
a member of a political party, is vested with powers that give him
an opportunity to control the functioning of the NEC. The powers
to appoint and discharge members of the NEC have the result that
NEC members are accountable to the President. In such a situation
it is practically impossible for the NEC to work independently and
professionally. Therefore, the NEC needs be reformed in order to
guarantee its independence and efficiency.

Weaknesses are revealed in election campaigns where there is

not equality among parliamentary contestants due to the period
within which objection appeals are heard and the period in which
campaigning is to start run concurrently. Therefore, a parliamentary
contestant whose candidature is challenged ends up having less time
for campaigning compared to the contestant whose candidature is
not challenged. The effects of having unequal campaigning time
are evident where a parliamentary candidate fails to campaign in all
areas of the constituency due to the lack of time.

89 Tanzania Civil Society Consortium for Election Observation and Legal and
Human Rights Centre (Tanzania) ‘Report on the 2015 general elections of United
Republic of Tanzania’ (March 2016) 74.
160 (2022) 22 AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW JOURNAL

10 Conclusion
The right to vote is at the heart of representative democracy. It
provides legitimacy to political leaders including members of
parliament. As demonstrated in this article, the right to vote should
be guaranteed both in laws and practices. Without guarantees it is
practically impossible for citizens to elect or vote for the members
of parliament they prefer. The Tanzanian laws and practices relating
to the protection and promotion of the right to vote fall short of
established international standards. These shortfalls are a result of
vesting powers in a few people instead of the citizens to decide who
is to be their representative or member of parliament.