Tanzania - Election 2015
The United Republic of Tanzania is a multiparty republic consisting of the mainland region and the semiautonomous Zanzibar archipelago, whose main islands are Unguja (Zanzibar Island) and Pemba. The union is headed by a president, who is also the head of government. Its unicameral legislative body is the National Assembly (parliament). Zanzibar, although part of the union, has its own government with a president, court system, and legislature, and exercises considerable autonomy. On October 25, the country held its fifth multiparty general election. Voting in the union and Zanzibari elections was judged to be largely free and fair. Voters in mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar elected a union president (John Magufuli) and their respective representatives in the union legislature. The chair of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission declared the election for Zanzibar’s president and legislature nullified after only part of the votes had been tabulated, precipitating a political crisis on the islands.
The United Republic of Tanzania held general elections on Sunday, October 25, 2015. Voters would elect a new President, and cast ballots for 239 members of the Bunge (the unicameral National Assembly) and numerous local offices. This election will be Tanzania’s fourth general election following the introduction of a multiparty democratic system in 1993. The October polls are expected to be Tanzania’s most competitive since 1993, with a historically strong incumbent party, the Party of the Revolution, squaring off against a newly formed coalition known as Ukawa.
Former Tanzanian president Ali Hassan Mwinyi backed January Makamba for State House. The son of prominent Chama cha Mapinduzi cadre and immediate former CCM secretary-general, Yusuph Makamba is one of the young presidential aspirants in this year’s election.
The Chama Cha Mapinduzi party had ruled since independence in 1961 and the fractious opposition was not expected to challenge its position. Former Tanzanian prime minister Edward Lowassa, seen as frontrunner to become the East African country's next leader, launched his campaign for the ruling party's presidential nomination on 31 May 2015.
Tanzania had 22 registered parties under the Political Parties Act of 1992. All the political parties which were participating in the elections rallies met all the legal requirements, as before they are nominated to run for any post, they have to fulfil the legal requirements. If there is a candidate is there in the rally, then it means that he has met the criteria required.
President Jakaya Kikwete was stepping down after completing two five-year terms, as allowed by the constitution. Tanzania had a long history of presidents observing term limits, unlike many other African countries.
Although the law calls for the electoral commission to review the national voters’ registry twice between the previous general election and the subsequent nomination day, this did not occur. Individuals who reached the age of 18 between October 2010 and February were unable to vote in by-elections. Election officials stated the government did not have sufficient funding to conduct registration more frequently. Some opposition leaders alleged the government sought to prevent young voters from registering, since they often voted for opposition parties. In February national registration of voters began using a Biometric Voter Registration system. Registration concluded in August, with 22,751,292 eligible voters registered on the mainland, and 503,193 registered in Zanzibar.
Separate elections are held for the union and for Zanzibar, ordinarily on the same day, in which citizens of the two parts of the union elect local officials, members of the national parliament, and a union (national) president. Additionally Zanzibar separately elects a president of Zanzibar and members of the Zanzibar House of Representatives. The voting in Zanzibar on October 25 was judged to be largely free and fair. Following the vote, however, when tabulation of the results was more than half way completed, the chairperson of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission announced he had nullified the Zanzibar elections, although according to the constitution and law the commission does not have the authority to do so. This decision precipitated a political crisis in the semiautonomous archipelago with the opposition candidate declaring he had won.
On October 28, 2015 main opposition candidate Edward Lowassa rejected the results of Tanzania's presidential election, citing alleged fraud. Lowassa told reporters in Dar es Salaam that results from the opposition coalition's tallying unit showed the opposition leading the vote count before police raided the unit. The results from Tanzania's election commission showed Lowassa, of the Chadema party, trailing CCM candidate John Magufuli 59 percent to 40 percent. The tally covered results from 184 out of 264 constituencies, or about 70 percent. Tanzania's electoral commission announced 29 October 2015 that John Magufuli and his ruling CCM party won the presidency.
Zanzibar's election commission said that the results were nullified because of "gross violations" in the voting process. The US embassy in Tanzania said October 29, 2015 it was "gravely alarmed" at the recent annulment of the Zanzibar presidential election. Semi-autonomous Zanzibar has its own government, but its votes count in Tanzania's national presidential election, which was held October 25. The embassy said that the Zanzibar action nullified "an orderly and peaceful election," as observed by officials from the U.S., the European Union, the Commonwealth, and the Southern Africa Development Community.
Despite continued controversy over the results of the 25 October election, John Magufuli, was sworn in on 05 November 2015 as Tanzania's new presidentt, along with the country's first female Vice President, Samia Suluhu Hassan. On November 19, 2015 a majority of parliamentarians in Tanzania approved Majaliwa Kassim Majaliwa as the new prime minister to lead the government’s business in the lawmaking body. He pledged to work with the opposition. President John Maguful appointed Majaliwa, who was a junior minister for former president Jakaya Kikwete.
On January 29, 2016 the High Commissioners and Ambassadors to Tanzania of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, issued the following statement regarding the recent announcement of an election re-run in Zanzibar:
“We reiterate our concern with the Zanzibar Electoral Commission’s decision to annul the election of October 25, 2015, without having provided evidence to substantiate its claim that irregularities had taken place, and despite the positive assessments of electoral observation missions conducted by the Commonwealth Secretariat, the African Union, the Southern African Development Community, the East African Community, the European Union, and the United States of America.
“We regret that an election re-run was announced, while a dialogue between parties was still ongoing. For the benefit of all Tanzanians, we reaffirm our belief that the current political impasse in Zanzibar would be best addressed through a mutually acceptable and negotiated solution... "
Elections on Zanzibar had always been a tight two-horse race between CUF and Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), which has ruled mainland Tanzania for more than five decades. Zanzibar's election commission annulled the vote for the island's presidential election 25 October 2015, citing "violations of electoral law." The annulment came after Civic United Front (CUF) candidate Seif Sharif Hamad declared himself the winner before the results were officially announced.
On January 28, 2016, the opposition CUF said it would not take part in the planned rerun of last year's elections. On 20 March 2016, the people of Zanzibar headed to the polls in a rerun of the presidential elections. The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) is hopeful for a victory for incumbent president Ali Mohamed Shein in the rerun. There was a heavy police and military presence on the island. The opposition Civic United Front (CUF) did not participate in the poll. The security situation in Zanzibar had been tense following the arrests of Civic United Front (CUF) activists and leaders. The authorities also banned public rallies to avoid conflict between rival parties. But a majority of people boycotted the election.
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