Politics of Tanzania
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Template:Politics of Tanzania Tanzania's president and National Assembly members are elected concurrently by direct popular vote for 5-year terms. The president appoints a prime minister who serves as the government's leader in the National Assembly. The president selects his cabinet from among National Assembly members. The Constitution also empowers him to nominate 10 non-elected members of Parliament, who also are eligible to become cabinet members. Elections for president and all National Assembly seats will be held in October 2005.
The unicameral National Assembly elected in 2000 has 295 members. These 295 members include the Attorney General, five members elected from the Zanzibar House of Representatives to participate in the Parliament, the special women's seats which are made up of 20% of the seats a particular party has in the House, 181 constituents seats of members of Parliament from the mainland, and 50 seats from Zanzibar. Also in the list are 48 appointed for women and the seats for the 10 nominated members of Parliament. At present, the ruling CCM holds about 93% of the seats in the Assembly. Laws passed by the National Assembly are valid for Zanzibar only in specifically designated union matters.
Zanzibar's House of Representatives has jurisdiction over all non-union matters. There are currently 76 members in the House of Representatives in Zanzibar, including 50 elected by the people, 10 appointed by the president of Zanzibar, 5 exofficio members, and an attorney general appointed by the president. In May 2002, the government increased the number of special seats allocated to women from 10 to 15, which will increase the number of House of Representatives members to 81. Ostensibly, Zanzibar's House of Representatives can make laws for Zanzibar without the approval of the union government as long as it does not involve union-designated matters. The terms of office for Zanzibar's president and House of Representatives also are 5 years. The semiautonomous relationship between Zanzibar and the union is a relatively unique system of government.
Tanzania has a five-level judiciary combining the jurisdictions of tribal, Islamic, and British common law. Appeal is from the primary courts through the district courts, resident magistrate courts, to the high courts, and Court of Appeals. Judges are appointed by the Chief Justice, except those for the Court of Appeals and the High Court who are appointed by the president. The Zanzibari court system parallels the legal system of the union, and all cases tried in Zanzibari courts, except for those involving constitutional issues and Islamic law, can be appealed to the Court of Appeals of the union. A commercial court was established in September 1999 as a division of the High Court.
For administrative purposes, Tanzania is divided into 26 regions--21 on the mainland, 3 on Zanzibar, and 2 on Pemba. Ninety-nine district councils have been created to further increase local authority. These districts are also now referred to as local government authorities. Currently there are 114 councils operating in 99 districts, 22 are urban and 92 are rural. The 22 urban units are classified further as city (Dar es Salaam and Mwanza), municipal (Arusha, Dodoma, Iringa, Kilimanjaro, Mbeya, Morogoro, Shinyanga, Tabora, and Tanga), and town councils (the remaining 11 communities).
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Political conditions
Full independence came in December 1961 and Julius Kambarage Nyerere (1922 - 1999), a socialist leader who led Tanganyika from colonial rule, was elected President in 1962. One of Africa’s most respected figures, Julius Nyerere was a politician of principle and intelligence. Known as Mwalimu or teacher he had a vision of education that was rich with possibility.
From independence in 1961 until the mid-1980s, Tanzania was a one-party state, with a socialist model of economic development. Beginning in the mid-1980s, under the administration of President Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Tanzania undertook a number of political and economic reforms. In January and February 1992, the government decided to adopt multiparty democracy. Legal and constitutional changes led to the registration of 11 political parties. Two parliamentary by-elections (won by CCM) in early 1994 were the first-ever multiparty elections in Tanzanian history.
In October 2000, Tanzania held its second multi-party general elections. The ruling CCM party's candidate, Benjamin W. Mkapa, defeated his three main rivals, winning the presidential election with 71% of the vote. In the parliamentary elections, CCM won 202 of the 232 elected seats. In the Zanzibar presidential election, Abeid Amani Karume, the son of former President Abeid Karume, defeated CUF candidate Seif Sharif Hamad. The election was marred by irregularities, and subsequent political violence claimed at least 23 lives in January 2001, mostly on Pemba island. Also, 16 CUF members were expelled from the Union Parliament after boycotting the legislature to protest the Zanzibar election results.
In October 2001, the CCM and the CUF parties signed a reconciliation agreement which called for electoral reforms and set up a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the deaths that occurred in January 2001 on Pemba. The agreement also led to President appointment of an additional CUF official to become a member of the Union Parliament. Changes to the Zanzibar Constitution in April 2002 allowed both the CCM and CUF parties to nominate members to the Zanzibar Electoral Commission. In May 2003, the Zanzibar Electoral Commission conducted by-elections to fill vacant seats in the parliament, including those seats vacated by the CUF boycott. Observers considered these by-elections, the first major test of the reconciliation agreement, to be free, fair, and peaceful. President Mkapa, Vice President Ali Mohamed Shein, Prime Minister Frederick Sumaye, and National Assembly members will serve until the next general elections in 2005. Similarly, Zanzibar President Karume and members of the Zanzibar House of Representatives also will complete their terms of office in 2005.
Facts
Country name:
Conventional long form: United Republic of Tanzania Conventional short form: Tanzania Former: United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar
Data code:
TZ
Government type:
Capital:
note: some government offices have been transferred to Dodoma, which is planned as the new national capital; the National Assembly now meets there on regular basis
Administrative divisions:
Tanzania is divided into 25 regions: Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Iringa, Kigoma, Kilimanjaro, Lindi, Mara, Mbeya, Morogoro, Mtwara, Mwanza, Pemba North, Pemba South, Pwani, Rukwa, Ruvuma, Shinyanga, Singida, Tabora, Tanga, Zanzibar Central/South, Zanzibar North, Zanzibar Urban/West, Ziwa Magharibi
note: Ziwa Magharibi may have been renamed Kagera
Independence:
April 26 1964; Tanganyika became independent December 9 1961 (from UK-administered UN trusteeship); Zanzibar became independent December 19 1963 (from UK); Tanganyika united with Zanzibar April 26 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar; renamed United Republic of Tanzania October 29 1964
National holiday:
Union Day, 26 April (1964)
Constitution:
April 25 1977; major revisions October 1984
Legal system:
based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
Chief of State: President Benjamin William MKAPA (since November 23 1995) Vice President: Omar Ali JUMA (since 23 November 1995) note - the president is both chief of state and head of governmentfor matters internal to Zanzibar; Dr. Salmin AMOUR was elected to that office on October 22 1995. Cabinet: Cabinet ministers, including the prime minister, are appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly Elections President and vice president elected on the same ballot by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 29 October-19 November 1995 (next to be held October 29 2000); prime minister appointed by the president Election results: Benjamin William MKAPA: 61.8%, Augustine Lyatonga MREMA: 27.8%, Ibrahim Haruna LIPUMBA: 6.4%, John Momose: CHEYO 4%
Legislative branch
Unicameral National Assembly or Bunge (274 seats - 232 elected by popular vote, 37 allocated to women nominated by the president, five to members of the Zanzibar House of Representatives; members serve five-year terms); note - in addition to enacting laws that apply to the entire United Republic of Tanzania, the Assembly enacts laws that apply only to the mainland; Zanzibar has its own House of Representatives to make laws especially for Zanzibar (the Zanzibar House of Representatives has 50 seats, directly elected by universal suffrage to serve five-year terms) Elections: last held 29 October-19 November 1995 (next to be held NA October 2000) Election results: National Assembly: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CCM 186, CUF 24, NCCR-Mageuzi 16, CHADEMA 3, UDP 3; Zanzibar House of Representatives: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CCM 26, CUF 24
Judicial branch
Court of Appeal; High Court, judges appointed by the president
Political parties and leaders
Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo or CHADEMA [Bob MAKANI, chairman] Chama Cha Mapinduzi or CCM (Revolutionary Party) [Benjamin William MKAPA] Civic United Front or CUF [Seif Sharif HAMAD] Democratic Party (unregistered) [Reverend MTIKLA] National Convention for Construction and Reform or NCCR [Mabere MARANDO] Tanzania Labor Party or TLP [Augustine Lyatonga MREMA] Union for Multiparty Democracy or UMD [Abdullah FUNDIKIRA] United Democratic Party or UDP [John CHEYO]