U.S. QUESTIONS CREDIBILITY OF TANZANIA'S LOCAL ELECTIONS

Tanzania president, John Magufuli in army regalia

By Osoro Nyawangah, Dar es Salaam TANZANIA

United States has shown deep concern over reports of irregularities in the 24 November 2019 Tanzania’s local government elections that was boycotted by opposition parties citing violence and intimidation.

Tanzanian opposition leaders have complained that tolerance for dissent has diminished rapidly since President John Magufuli took office in 2015 on pledges to reform the East African nation’s economy and crackdown on corruption.

In a statement released today by the Embassy in Tanzania, US said that election officials overwhelmingly excluded opposition candidates during the election process pushing them to withdraw from participating.

“This troubling development calls into question the credibility of the election process and results.” The statement read, adding that the United States is deeply concerned with the reports of the irregularities in the elections.

The statement further said that the government of Tanzania’s refusal to provide observation accreditation in a timely manner to credible, experienced organisations in addition, eroded confidence in the process.

In August last year, the US embassy issued the same concern citing unwarranted arrests of opposition candidates and acts to suppress freedom of assembly and speech in a constituency and local government by-elections.

Official results released on Monday showed President John Magufuli's ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party had scored landslide victories in almost all of the more than 330,000 local leadership positions up for grabs in Sunday's ballot, which decided who would take office at the grassroots of government in villages, cities and towns across Tanzania.

The ruling party candidates won more than 99 percent of the 12,000 village chairmanships contested, as well as all of the country's more than 4,000 street leadership positions. 

Chadema, the main opposition party, said earlier this month it would not be taking part in the elections because of alleged government manipulations, including the mass disqualification of its candidates. Several other smaller parties also joined the boycott.

"Our party believes it is wiser not to support such electoral cheating," Chadema Chairperson, Freeman Mbowe said in November. "To continue to participate in elections of this kind is to legitimise illegality."

He said it was now the time for a free and independent electoral commission to be established to steer the democratic process away from partisan interests that jeopardise the wellbeing of nationhood.

Other opposition political party, Alliance for Change and Transparency – Wazalendo (ACT) also joined hands with CHADEMA claiming that they had seconded a total of 355,424 to contest all positions countrywide but the Returning Officers nullified 96% (341,2017) and clearing only 4% (14,217) on failure to fill the forms properly.

In the 2015 general elections in Tanzania, the current President, John Magufuli, under CCM gunned 8,882,935 (58.46%) votes followed by CHADEMA presidential candidate, Edward Lowassa who got 6,072,848 (39.97%) votes with ACT-Wazalendo candidate Anna Mghiwira scoring 98,763 (0.65%) votes.

 

In the national assembly, the ruling CCM made up with 252 seats, CHADEMA had 70 seats, Civic United Front got 42 seats and ACT-Wazalendo holding one seat.

Rights groups say the intimidation of political opponents has escalated sharply under Magufuli leadership, a strongman whose administration has wielded wide-ranging laws to silence government critics.

In a country where reliable and independent political data is scarce and the media is increasingly under threat, analysts said the local polls could set the tone for 2020 presidential, parliamentary and council elections.

A lawyer from the Legal and Human Rights Centre in Tanzania, Fulgence Massawe, said the elections have exposed serious weaknesses in electoral laws.

According to him, for one to hold a seat he/she must have political legitimacy which comes from the people.

“How can someone hold political office when no one voted them into office in the first place? Even if he/she was the sole candidate people should have go to the polls to give him/her political legitimacy, just like we did during the single party era,” he said.

Magufuli, who is expected to run again in 2020 elections, has been strongly criticised by watchdogs for the human rights record of his four-year government.

Free media has been intimidated by draconian cybercrime laws, critical newspapers and bloggers have been silenced, and opposition activists have been harassed, according to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. - Africa