Tanzania - Election 2005
The United Republic of Tanzania is a multiparty state led by the president of the union (consisting of the mainland and the Zanzibar archipelago) and had a population of approximately 37 million. Zanzibar, although integrated into the country's governmental and party structure, has its own president, court system, and parliament and continued to exercise considerable local autonomy. In the union's December 14 presidential and legislative elections, Jakaya Kikwete was elected by mainland and Zanzibari voters as president of the union--succeeding President Benjamin Mkapa--and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party made significant gains in the National Assembly. Observers considered the union elections to be freer and fairer than previous elections, despite irregularities and politically motivated violence, mostly on Zanzibar. While civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces, there were some instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently of government authority.
The government restricted political opponents by denying their permit requests to hold rallies, harassing them, and detaining them for short periods of time. For example on July 18, Dar es Salaam police detained for a few hours and interrogated Professor Ibrahim Lipumba, CUF's presidential candidate in the December 14 elections, for making statements on the mainland that were "disturbing." In addition Zanzibari police traveled to Dar es Salam and interrogated him separately the same day.
Police beat individuals and used tear gas to disperse campaign rallies conducted by opposition parties. Individuals and parties could freely declare their candidacy and stand for election; however, there were government restrictions on political opponents. The law prohibits independent candidates who are not representing a registered political party, requires all registered political parties to support the union with Zanzibar, and forbids parties based on ethnic, regional, or religious affiliation.
CCM's candidates had been elected repeatedly since the country's first multiparty election. Its political dominance has been due partly to restrictions on the political opposition. In addition the election law provides for outgoing parliamentarians to receive US$17,000 (20 million shillings) as a "gratuity," which incumbents used in campaigns to facilitate their reelection. Several NGOs and opposition parties criticized this provision, saying that it made it extremely difficult for aspiring parliamentary candidates from the opposition parties to mount an effective and fair competition.
President Jakaya Kikwete, was elected in December 2005 [and re-elected on October 31, 2010]. Tanzania's constitution limits presidents to two terms in office. The Civic United Front (CUF), with a strong power base on Zanzibar (most notably the island of Pemba), managed to secure 19 parliamentary seats there. But the hopes of CHADEMA and other smaller parties of gaining more seats in the Union Parliament were not realised - CHADEMA won in five constituencies, with the United Democratic Party and Tanzania Labour Party winning one seat each. CCM's complete dominance of parliament was set to continue.
While the December 14 union elections were generally peaceful on the mainland, the campaigns preceding them were marked by violence in some regions. In October there were reports of political violence on the mainland between CCM supporters and opposition supporters from UDP, Chadema, and CUF. For example in Bukoba region at least 35 residents reportedly suffered injuries when supporters of CCM and CUF beat each other. Also in October, police in Bariadi, Shinyanga, arrested several CCM members, including the wife of a prominent government official, for assaulting UDP opposition party members. On October 30, CUF members in Tanga region beat a CCM member after the individual allegedly walked into a CUF campaign meeting wearing a CCM T-shirt and cap.
In November police in Mwanza arrested two individuals for assaulting CCM presidential candidate Jakaya Kikwete during a rally in Mwanza. At year's end the case was pending in court. Also in November the Shinyanga regional commissioner told the press he had issued a warning to political party leaders in his region following a spate of violent skirmishes at some campaign meetings in several districts.
On October 30, voters in the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar elected a president, legislators, and local representatives for the archipelago. CCM candidate Amani Karume, the incumbent president, won the Zanzibari presidency with 53 percent of the vote in an election marred by irregularities. Seif Sharif Hamad, the CUF presidential candidate garnered 46 percent of the vote. In elections for Zanzibar's 50-seat House of Representatives, the CCM won 30 seats while the CUF won 19.
While international observers of the October 30 Zanzibari elections noted improvements in the election process compared to previous years, some international observers called for an independent investigation, citing serious irregularities, including the failure of the ZEC to release the permanent voters register (PVR) until the day before the polling day; inaccuracies in the PVR; incidents of underage and multiple voting; incidents of registered voters being turned away from the polls; and the cancellation of election results for the Dole voting district due to a shortage of ballot papers. CUF leaders also called for an investigation, charging that there was intimidation, fraud, and mismanagement at the polls. They accused the government of transporting pro-CCM voters--often from the mainland--into pro-CUF voting districts, where they allegedly were allowed to vote multiple times. They also accused the ZEC of disenfranchising 47 thousand voters and failing to disclose names on the PVR.
In Zanzibar both the Zanzabari and the national elections were marred by violence. At some registration sites, there were violent confrontations between paramilitary forces and citizens, one of which resulted in death (see section 1.a.). In addition, during the December 14 union elections, approximately 20 persons were injured, some seriously, in violence in Zanzibar. There also were instances of violence near polling centers between locally registered voters and non-locals who were allegedly trying to cast votes where they were not registered to vote. For example a member of the Janjaweed, an allegedly pro-government gang, stabbed a man in Stone Town who was trying to prevent voting and election interference by non-locals.
After polling day for union elections, Zanzibar police accused supporters of the CUF of instigating the violence and arrested at least 46 individuals. There was no information available regarding whether these individuals had been released by year's end. Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports that the youth wings of the CCM and CUF parties attacked political leaders or vandalized property.
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