Stakeholders have urged Tanzania to amend its constitution to allow private candidates in elections. This call was made during a dialogue to commemorate International Democracy Day, organized by the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) on Saturday, September 14, 2024, at the University of Dar es Salaam.
“Our constitution states that if you want to vie for a position, you must join a political party. So, I can say we are a democratic country but under a party dictatorship. Why shouldn’t an individual candidate be allowed to vie for a position?” argued Professor Anna Tibaijuka during her keynote address.
Tibaijuka shared her experience of running in elections, emphasizing that people vote for individuals, not for parties. However, she noted that many candidates suffer abuses within political parties because they can only run through them. She explained that the political culture in Tanzanian parties mirrors that of the Soviet Communist Party, which ultimately restricts people’s freedom.
“Our political parties here have a Soviet-style system. The Central Committee is like the Politburo. If a person wants to run for a position, and central committee removes their name in the process. So where can I go, especially when the door for independent candidates is closed? The party system across all political parties is ‘management by committees’, but this could compromise individual liberties and freedom,” she argued.
Tibaijuka also addressed fears that allowing private candidates would undermine political parties, using the U.S. system as an example, where private candidates are allowed but parties remain strong.
“It would help us a lot if independent candidates were allowed. It’s not that they would take over constituencies, but it would make political parties more cautious about the potential for abuse. Right now, some people can openly tell you, ‘I will remove your name,’ which means the best candidate can easily be eliminated,” she explained.
The struggle for independent candidates in Tanzania is not new. It intensified in 1993 when politician and activist Reverend Christopher Mtikila took the issue to court. Mtikila’s main argument was that every citizen has the right to participate in leadership without being forced to affiliate with a political party.
That year, Mtikila won the case after the High Court agreed with his argument. However, the dream of independent candidates was crushed following constitutional amendments in 1994, which explicitly prohibited independent candidates. Mtikila continued his fight, and in 2005, he returned to court, arguing that the constitutional provisions banning independent candidates were inconsistent with the principles of justice and democracy.
Once again, he emerged victorious, with the High Court ordering the government to resolve the issue of independent candidates before the next election. However, in 2009, the government appealed the decision, and the court deferred the matter to Parliament, citing it as the organ that holds the authority to amend the Constitution. The court said that allowing independent candidates depended on social and political needs, making it more of a political issue than a legal one.
After exhausting all domestic legal avenues, Mtikila took the case to the African Court, which ruled on June 14, 2013, that Tanzania must allow independent candidates in presidential, parliamentary, and local government elections. The ruling was based on violations of articles 2, 3, 10, and 13(1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Despite this ruling, the government has yet to implement it.
During the LHRC dialogue on Saturday, veteran politician John Cheyo supported the call for independent candidates, citing that it would encourage greater participation of youth and women in leadership.
“For women and youth, one of the main challenges is that you are required to join political parties. In these parties, you can’t get a position without money—elections have become like auctions. So, why not allow independent candidates? The stance of the UDP party is that we should have independent candidates. This would provide an opportunity not to rely too heavily on political parties,” argued Cheyo, who has served as a member of parliament for Magu and Bariadi East and was also a presidential candidate in Tanzania’s 1995 first multiparty election.
The sentiments of Cheyo and Tibaijuka were echoed by LHRC Executive Director Anna Henga: “Independent candidacy is a right. When you force people to join political parties to run for office, you are violating their rights.”
She added, “If we allow independent candidates, it will create more opportunities for women and youth to run, and it will also reduce the sycophancy in our politics. This situation occurs because people feel the need to please party leaders to be nominated for political positions.”
Professor Tibaijuka appealed to President Samia Suluhu Hassan, stating that this is one of the most important reforms her government could spearhead. Cheyo also emphasized that President Samia should revive the process of creating a new constitution.
