Dar es Salaam – The High Court in the capital, Dodoma, on December 30, 2025, granted the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT Wazalendo) party leave to challenge the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The ruling allows the party to formally question the legality of the commission’s decision not to allocate any of the 115 special parliamentary seats for women to them, despite the party claiming it met the legal threshold.
Following the general election held on October 29, 2025, INEC announced the allocation of special seats on November 7, 2025. The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party was awarded 113 seats, while a smaller opposition party, Chama cha Ukombozi wa Umma (CHAUMMA), received two. No seats were given to ACT Wazalendo.
In its application to the court, ACT Wazalendo stated it had garnered 2,222,162 votes, which amounts to 6.77 per cent of the total votes cast. This figure is above the five per cent constitutional threshold required for a political party to be considered for the allocation of special seats. The party is challenging the electoral commission’s decision on the grounds of illegality, irrationality, and procedural impropriety.
The government’s legal representatives had argued that the court lacked jurisdiction, contending that the matter was an electoral dispute that should be handled through an election petition, not a judicial review. They asserted that the court could not scrutinise vote counts or electoral results.
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However, in his ruling, Judge S.E. Kisanya found that ACT Wazalendo had presented an arguable case that warranted a full hearing. The judge determined that the application raised substantial questions of law regarding the interpretation of the constitution and electoral laws, which fall under the court’s supervisory jurisdiction. The court ruled that the application was not frivolous or an abuse of the court process.
ACT Wazalendo is now permitted to file a substantive application for judicial review, where it will seek orders to quash the electoral commission’s decision and compel it to re-allocate the special seats in accordance with the law.
