Southern & East Africa: Tanzania
Political Context
In 2005 Tanzania held its third multiparty elections Union elections for both the mainland and the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar. As expected, the ruling CCM party easily won the Union presidential election with the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Jakaya Kikwete, taking over from President Benjamin Mkapa. CCM also dominated the parliamentary elections, winning 206 of the 233 elected seats in the Union legislature (Bunge), returning to Tanzania to a virtual one-party state, thirteen years after the reintroduction of multiparty politics. While 17 new parties contested, none were able to demonstrate significant public support. President Kikwete and CCM appear to be genuinely committed to continuing economic reforms, but without meaningful political opposition there is little domestic incentive to maintain those policies.
Zanzibar elections were hotly contested between CCM and CUF. In 1995 and 2000, elections on Zanzibar were contentious; domestic and international observers found serious faults with the process; and CUF rejected the results. In 2001, demonstrations organized by CUF to protest the conduct of the 2000 elections and calls for a new vote, ended in violence with over 30 demonstrators killed. Elections were better administered in 2005, but significant problems remain in particular concerned about the accuracy of the voter registry. President Amani Abeid Karume of CCM narrowly defeated CUF candidate Seif Shariff Hamad and was re-elected for a second term as President of Zanzibar. CCM also won the majority of the elected seats in the House of Representatives.
NDI's Program
In November 2004, NDI began a capacity building program for all registered political parties in advance of the 2005 Union elections in Tanzania. This initiative was funded by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the Joint Donor Basket for the 2005 Elections. NDI worked with all 18 registered political parties to help them to more effectively participate in the 2005 Union elections. In implementing the program, NDI worked in partnership with the National Electoral Commission (NEC), Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) and the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties.
For the Zanzibar elections, NDI, with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), organized a twenty-member international observer mission led by Nora Owen, former Minister of Justice from Ireland; Pius Anyim, former President of the Nigerian Senate; and Lawrence DeNardis, former United States Congressman. Following the election the delegation issued its interim statement which found that:
| "Zanzibar's 2005 presidential, parliamentary and local council elections were a marked administrative improvement over past elections. However, problems related to the permanent voters register (PVR), election day violence, and in some instances excessive use of force by security personnel, may have undermined citizens' confidence in the electoral process and could have impaired the integrity of the vote in some polling stations." |
In addition to an interim statement, the delegation also issued a detailed final report on the Zanzibar elections (both of which can be found on Access Democracy or NDI's website). NDI continues to follow events in Tanzania and Zanzibar and is in the process of formulating, in consultation with partners, appropriate post-election activities.
Contact Information
For further information on our programs in Tanzania, please contact:
Jerry Lavery
Send Email