MZUMBE UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF LAW
PROGRAM: LLB 1
NAME OF SUBJECT: CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
CODE OF SUBJECT: LAW 127
NAME OF LECTURER: MR. SHAIBU
NATURE OF WORK: GROUP ASSIGNMENT
STREAM: A GROUP NO 3
PARTICIPANTS:
S/N STUDENTS NAME REGISTRATION NO
1. HIJA HABIBU MWENYE 1236046/T.24
2. MARIAMU HUSSEIN KAPESULA 1236047/T.24
3. CYNTHIA PATRICK MBERESERO 1236025/T.24
4. IRENE OBADIA KABUGA 2631041/T.24
5. MILEMO SYLVESTA MWITA 1236247/T.24
6. SIFAEL MOSES MARTINI 1236064/T.24
7. ANTIDIUS BUBERWA KALOKOLA 13318025/T.24
8. JACKLINE MARIETA ALEX 1236006/T.24
9. SHARIFA MUHIDINI CHAMI 1236091/T.24
10. GERION SIMON MWANGALO 1236143/T.24
11. TECLA WEGESA MUTESA 2631106/T.24

QUESTION:
Carefully read the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, 1977 (as amended from time
to time) and the 2014 Proposed Draft Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania and
identify key areas of convergence and divergence. Your discussion should be limited to the
following areas:
a) Structure of the United Republic of Tanzania
b) Citizenship
c) Human Rights
d) Powers of the President and
e) National Elections
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 THE SCOPE OF THE QUESTION .................................................................................................. 3
1.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 3
1.1.1 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA OF 1977 ................... 3
1.1.2 THE PROPOSED CONSTITUTION OF 2014 ............................................................................. 6
2.0 MAIN BODY ...................................................................................................................................... 6
2.1 STRUCTURE OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA ..................................................... 6
2.2 CITIZENSHIP ................................................................................................................................... 8
2.3 HUMAN RIGHTS ............................................................................................................................. 9
2.4 POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT ................................................................................................... 10
2.5 NATIONAL ELECTIONS ............................................................................................................ 12
CONCLUSIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 14
REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................................... 15
1.0 THE SCOPE OF THE QUESTION
The question needs us to carefully read the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania as well as the
2014 proposed draft Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania and to identify the key areas of
convergence and divergence . The discussion is to be limited to some areas that include; the structure of the
United Republic of Tanzania, citizenship, human rights, powers of the president and national elections.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
A Constitution is a system or body of fundamental principles according to which a nation, state or
body of politics is established and governed.According to the Black’s Law Dictionary 1 ,
Constitution is defined as the organic and fundamental law of a nation or state which may be
written or unwritten establishing the character and organising the government, distributing and
limiting the functions of different organs. Also according to Webster’s 20th century Dictionary2,
the Constitution is defined as a way in which a government, state or society is organised or Is a
document or set of documents in which laws and principles are written down.

1.1.1 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA OF 1977

Tanzania uses the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 amended from time to
time, the Constitution was first adopted in 1961 after the independence of Tanganyika, it was called
the Independence Constitution which recognized the queen of England as the head of the state
represented by the governor while the prime minister was the head of the government, later in
1962 after Tanganyika became a Republic a new constitution was adopted called the Republican
Constitution of 1962, in this Constitution, Tanganyika was recognised as a republic state and it
abolished the Governor system, the Presidency system was introduced where the president was
both the head of state and the head of the government. The late Julius.K.Nyerere became the first
president of Tanganyika. In 1964 after the union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar a new constitution
was put into place and was called the Union Constitution of 1964 the union led to the formation
of the United Republic of Tanzania, the Constitution recognized two governments that is the
government of the United Republic of Tanzania and the Revolutionary government of Zanzibar.
The Interim constitution of 1965, the Constitution introduced the single party system whereas
TANU was recognized as the main party in Tanzania mainland and ASP for Zanzibar ,the
Permanent Constitution of 1977 is the current Constitution used in Tanzania in which several
amendments were made in 1984 where the Constitution was amended to include the Bill of Rights
in the constitution and introduced the time limit for running presidency which was made into only
two terms, in 1992 the multi-party system was reintroduced and included in the constitution, in
2002 amendments were made to establish independence judiciary and in 2005 the amendments
were made to add the number of members of parliament and introduced special seats for women
in the parliament, these prove that the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania is amended
from time to time.

1
Black’s Law Dictionary
2
Webster’s 20th century Dictionary
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF TANZANIA CONSTITUTION

THE INDEPENDENCE CONSTITUTION OF 1961

Tanganyika got its independence in 1961 after independence the Britain passed the Tanganyika
constitution order in council of 1961 which granted Tanganyika independence and gave her a
written constitution 3.The constitution was based on the Westminster model although it did not
include the bill of rights. The constitution defined the Governor, the representative of the Queen
of Tanganyika, to be the formal head of the state, while the executive was led by the prime minister
chosen from the majority party 4. The Constitution established the independence of the judiciary.
The weakness of this Constitution is that the people of Tanganyika did not participate in the.

THE REPUBLICAN CONSTITUTION OF 1962

This was the second constitution; the ruling part TANU had expressed their wish to have a
republican form of government with an executive president. The government white paper entitled
‘proposal of Tanganyika Government for a Republic’ Was published and discussed and adopted by
the National Assembly. The most important feature of this constitution it is that Tanganyika was
made to be a republic and the power of the president who was declared to be the head of state ,
head of government , commander in chief of the army and part of the parliament but not a member
of the parliament 5. No law could be passed without the assent of the president.

THE UNION CONSTITUTION 1964

In 1964 Tanganyika and Zanzibar united to form the United Republic of Tanzania. The union was
formalized after signing of the union Article. Due to that modification was made to the constitution
of the United Republic of Tanganyika to make provision for the union, the constitution included
the article of the union, this article was signed by the president of Zanzibar and the president of
Tanganyika the article was like a treaty to enter the union. The constitution recognized two

33 Issa G Shivji and Hamudi I.Majamba , constitutional and legal system of Tanzania
4 The journal of pan African studies
5
Issa G Shivji and Hamudi I.Majamba , constitutional and legal system of Tanzania
governments that is the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar and the government of the United
Republic of Tanzania.

THE INTERIM CONSTITUTION OF 1965

This constitution was regarded as interim since it was supposed to operate for sometimes in order
to adopt the political changes that happened that being the union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar the
constitution served until the adoption of the permanent constitution in 1977.This constitution was
enacted by the parliament of Tanzania in July 1965. In this constitution the changes that were made
to introduce single party system in Tanzania in Article 3 of the 1965 constitution. In which TANU
was the ruling party in mainland and ASP for Zanzibar. The Interim Constitution of 1965 had
annexure and this annexure was the constitution of TANU. So, the constitution of TANU was part
and parcel of the Interim Constitution. Although it was supposed to be used only for a short term
the constitution was used for 12 years.

THE PERMANENT CONSTITUTION OF 1977

The 1977 constitution was enacted by the parliament of Tanzania on 26th April 1977, this
constitution was intended to be the last constitution of Tanzania that is why it was marked as the
permanent constitution of Tanzania. since its passing the constitution has been amended several
times as follows in 1984 the changes were made to include a bill of right in the constitution in
1992 changes were made which introduced multiparty system in Tanzania another amendment
was in 1994 which introduced the system of running mate of the president to be the vice president
6 the other amendment was passed in 2002 which introduced several changes in the constitution,
first changes relating to the election of the president, the proportion of seats in the National
Assembly reserved for women, another change was to declare the judiciary has the final say in
matters of determining rights and duties according to the law and dispensation of justice another
final change was the establishment of the Human Rights and Good Governance Commission.

6
Issa G Shivji and Hamudi I.Majamba , constitutional and legal system of Tanzania
1.1.2 THE PROPOSED CONSTITUTION OF 2014
Despite the changes and amendments made to the Constitution, the public demanded for a whole
new Constitution as most people complained that the current Constitution was outdated and they
needed a change. In 2011 the government launched a process to draft a new Constitution for the
country, the Constitutional Review Act was then enacted by the parliament. In 2012, the President
JK. Kikwete appointed a 30 members commission led by the former Attorney General, Joseph
Warioba. The commission collected public opinions through different means, in 2013 the first draft
was made and was submitted to the national constituent assembly for review and adaptation and it
was later taken to the President, the Constitution did not come into use since it wasn’t passed due
to some political challenges especially the opposition from Ukawa party.

2.0 MAIN BODY

The following are the key areas of convergence and divergence as limited to the specific areas
mentioned above:

2.1 STRUCTURE OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

The Constitution provides a proclamation of the United Republic, recognising the union between
Tanzania ( mainland) and Zanzibar. The Constitution of the United Republic of 1977 provides for
the proclamation in Article 1 7 , which states TTanzania is one state and is a sovereign United
Republic.” The 2014 proposed draft Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania provides for
a Union statement in Article 1(1)8, which states TThe United Republic of Tanzania is a Federation
which is sovereign and has resulted from the union of the two countries of the Republic of
Tanganyika and the People’s Republic of Zanzibar…”
CONVERGENCE
A. Preservation of the Union; Both the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of
1977 and the proposed 2014 draft of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania recognise
the union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar, as provided in Article 19"Tanzania is one state and
is a sovereign United Republic" the Article emphasizes unity under one sovereign republic.Also
Article 2(1)10 "the territory of the United Republic consist of the whole of the area of main land
Tanzania and the whole area of Tanzania Zanzibar and include the territorial waters" this Article
define the geographical scope of the union. Furthermore Article 4(1)11 shows power-sharing and

7
The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 as amended time to time
8
The Proposed Draft Constitution Of Tanzania(September, 2014)
9
The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 as amended time to time
10
The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 as amended time to time
11
ibid
dual government system, essential to preserving the union. Article 1(1)12 of the 2014 proposed
draft Constitution also reinforces oneness of the country there for both Constitution preserves
union.
B. Recognition of Zanzibar; Both recognise Zanzibar as a semi-autonomous region with it’s
own government and House of Representatives. This has been provided in Article 4(2) 13of the
Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 which states T…and the organs vested
with legislative and supervisory powers over public affairs shall be the parliament of the United
Republic and the House of Representatives.”Also in Article 70(b) 14 of the 2014 proposed
Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania TThe United Republic of Tanzania will have a
two-government structure that is:
(a) the Government of the United Republic; and
(b) the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar;.”

DIVERGENCE
A. Structure of the Government; The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977,
maintains a two-tier unitary government structure as per Article 4(1)15which states that"All
state authority in the United Republic shall be exercised and controlled by two organs vested
with executive powers, two organs vested with judicial powers, and two organs vested with
legislative and supervisory powers over the conduct of public affairs." 16which includes the
Union Government of the United Republic tha handles down union matters and matters of
mainland Tanzania as well as the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar that handles non
union matters in Zanzibar.WHILE the 2014 proposed draft Constitution proposed a federal
structure under Article 1(01)17which is a three-tier government structure to include;
-The Union Government
-The Government of Tanzania Main land and
-The Government of revolution Zanzibar

12
The Proposed Draft Constitution of Tanzania(September,2014)
13
Ibid
14
ibid
15
The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 as amended time to time
16 ibid

17
The Proposed Draft Constitution of Tanzania(September,2014)
B. Distribution of Powers; The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977,
centralizes most powers in the union Government. Article 4(1) and 4(2)18 they provide for
separation of power and states that each organ shall be responsible for its own function and
duties. Although the Constitution of 1977 recognizes two parts of the union Mainland &
Zanzibar, it does not fully reflect a clear distribution of power between union government and
Zanzibar government. Much authority remains centralized in the Union Government.WHILE
the 2014 proposed draft Constitution decentralizes powers, clearly separating union, mainland
and Zanzibar jurisdictions with defined roles. The 2014 Proposed Draft Constitution provides
a more detailed federal structure that allows the greater autonomy to Zanzibar and Mainland
government, each having their own executive, legislature and Judiciary apart from the union
government under article 219

2.2 CITIZENSHIP
the status of belonging to a particular country and enjoying all the rights and privileges of a
citizen of that country, and subject to its laws"20 . Simply this means the act of being a citizen of a
particular country or nation there are different types of citizenship that person could have in
Tanzania under section 2 of the citizenship act21recognizes different types of citizenship such as
citizenship by birth, citizenship by descent
The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania does not provide provisions governing
citizenship in Tanzania but instead citizenship is primarily governed by the Tanzania Citizenship
Act 22 .The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 and the proposed draft
Constitution of 2014, provide for the citizenship laws as well as stand for the citizenship rights for
their protection and the facilitation of citizenship acquisition.

CONVERGENCE
Both the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania and the 2014 proposed draft Constitution
of Tanzania define citizenship by birth and descent which is provided in Section 5 and 6 of

18
Ibid
19
The Proposed Draft Constitution of Tanzania(September,2014)
20
Black's Law Dictionary, 12th ed. (2019).
21
Ibid
22
Tanzania Citizenship Act [CAP 357 R.E 2002]
Tanzania Citizenship Act23 and in the 2014 proposed draft Constitution of Tanzania it is provided
in Article 65 up to 69.24
DIVERGENCE
The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 does not allow dual citizenship as
stated in Section 7(05) which states that "Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act, a
person who attains the age of eighteen years, or who, being a woman, is or has been married shall
not, if that person is a citizen of some country other than the United Republic, be entitled to be
naturalised as a citizen of the United Republic unless he renounces the citizenship of that other
country, takes the oath of allegiance and makes and registers a declaration prescribed by
Parliament regarding his intention as to residence". of the Tanzania Citizenship Act 25 which
provides for the cessation of dual citizenship WHILE the 2014 proposed draft Constitution of
Tanzania allows dual citizenship under Article 69 which states that "Without prejudice to the
provisions contained in this Chapter, any person of Tanzanian origin or ancestry and who has
ceased to be a citizen of the United Republic by obtaining citizenship of another country, when
he/she is in the United Republic, will have a special status as prescribed by the laws of land"26

2.3 HUMAN RIGHTS

Human rights are fundamental rights which a person have by a virtue of being a human
being.Human rights they are not dependent on being provided for a particular legal document27.
As this are essential and are not supposed to be taken away by any person as everyone is supposed
to enjoy fully as if violated the legal punishment will be upon such person The Constitution of the
United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 contains bill of rights that outline the fundamental human
rights and duties. The bill of rights was introduced into the constitution in 1984. The 2014 proposed
Constitution of Tanzania also provides for fundamental human rights and responsibilities.
CONVERGENCE
Both the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 and the 2014 proposed draft
Constitution of Tanzania recognise the importances of human rights and include provisions to
protect them. In the Constitution of the United republic of Tanzania, human rights are provided
from Article 12 to 24 and in the 2014 proposed draft Constitution of Tanzania, human rights are
provided from Article 31 to 56.

23
ibid
24
The Proposed Draft Constitution of Tanzania(September, 2014)
25
Tanzania Citizenship Act [CAP 357 R.E 2002]
26
The Proposed Draft Constitution Of Tanzania(September, 2014)
27
Shevji I. G. (2004) Constitution and Legal System of Tanzania,Dar es Salaam.
DIVERGENCE
A. Scope of rights covered; The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977,
contains civil and political human rights making the scope of the rights covered to be limited
WHILE The 2014 proposed draft Constitution of Tanzania, provides an expansion of the
human rights as it includes economic, social, civil, political, environmental and cultural rights
and thus broadening the scope of rights.
B. Limitation clause; Article 30(1)28 of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania
which states that "The human rights and freedoms, the principles of which are out in this
constitution, shall not be exercised by a person in a manner that causes interference with or
curtailment of the rights and freedoms of other persons or of any lawful act in accordance with
such law for the purpose of -" and Article 30(2) allows many rights to be limited broadly Tin
the public interest”, national security or morality- often criticised for being vague WHILE In
the 2014 proposed draft Constitution of Tanzania has a stronger limitation test, where rights
can only be limited if necessary and proportionate in a democratic society.
C. Enforcement Mechanism; Though the high court has jurisdiction to enforce fundamental
rights, there’s no Constitutional human rights commission WHILE In the 2014 proposed draft
Constitution, there is an establishment of a Commission for human rights and good
governance as provided in Article 229(1)29 which states that There shall be a Commission
called a TCommission for Human Right and Good Governance” which shall consist of a
Chairman, a ViceChairman and not more than seven Commissioners"whereby the duties of
that commission are provided under 232.30

D. Recognition of vulnerable groups; The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania does
not show a recognition of the vulnerable groups as it provides a broader range of the human rights
WHILE In the 2014 proposed draft Constitution of Tanzania, there is a recognition of the rights of
vulnerable groups where Articles 52, 53, 54 and 5531 provides rights for people with disabilities,
minorities, women and the elderly respectively.

2.4 POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT

The power of the president of Tanzania rise in their roles as both the head of the state and the head
of government making them the ultimate authority in the executive branch. This means they have
significant control over various aspects of the country's administration like commander in
chief.The president of the united republic of Tanzania has the significance authority acting as both

28
The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 as amended time to time
29
The Proposed Draft Constitution of Tanzania(September, 2014)
30
ibid
31
ibid
the head of the state and the government where they appoint ministers, dissolving the parliament
and haves the emergence power. So the 2014 proposed draft Constitution was proposed to address
various issues including the issues of check and balances.
CONVERGENCE
In the presidential powers where both the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977
and the 2014 proposed draft constitution recognize the power of the president as the Head of the
state and Government vesting them with them core executive. As addressed under Article 33(2) 32
of Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, provided that the President shall be the Head
of state and Government and the commander in chief of the Armed Forces. Key overlapping power
of the president includes;
A. The power to dissolve parliament; Both Constitutions grant the power and authority for
the President to dissolve the Parliament under specific circumstances. As addressed under
Article 90(1), 90(02)(a-e) of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977
permits the dissolution if the government loses a vote of confidence
B. Head of the state and government; Both constitutions recognize the President as the chief
executive authority and the symbol of national unity as addressed under Article 33(2)33 of
the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 which provides that the
President shall be the Head of state, the Head of Government and the commander in chief
of the armed forces. Also in the diplomatic and legislative area where both Constitution
empower the President to negotiate and ratify international treaties, sign bill into laws and
appointment of ambassadors and high commissioners. This reflects a strong Presidential
power where the President plays the vital power in both domestic and foreign affairs .
DIVERGENCE
While the core roles remains, the 2014 proposed draft Constitution introduces significant reforms
aimed at limiting the Presidential powers and promoting a good governance. For instance,
requiring parliamentary approval for certain appointments like ambassadors or judges, in the
Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977, the President has the unilateral power
and also declares the state of emergency, but the 2014 proposed draft constitution might require
parliamentary.
A. In the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977, the President has the
broad discretion in appointing the key officials including the Attorney General as
provided under Article 59(1)34of the Constitution which states that there shall be the
Attorney General for the government of the United Republic who shall be appointed
by the President. And the head of security organs, regional and district commissioners,
where no requirement for parliamentary approval, where by this centralization of power

32
The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 as amended time to time
33
ibid
34
ibid
 fosters a Presidential monarchy with weak institutional oversight35 WHILE In the 2014
proposed draft Constitution of Tanzania, the President’s appointment powers are
limited. Appointments of key figures such as the Chief Justice, judges, and
commissioners require consultation with independent bodies (e.g., Judicial Service
Commission under Art. (140) 36 . Parliamentary vetting is required for senior
appointments (Art. 143). This enhances transparency and parliamentary oversight,
aligning with principles of separation of powers.

2.5 NATIONAL ELECTIONS

The act of choosing or selecting one or more from a greater number of persons, things,
courses, or rights37 this issue of election also is recognized under section 2 of the The national
election act which states "election" means—
(a) in the case of an election of the President, the Presidential election;
(b) in the case of an election to the National Assembly, a Parliamentary election, an includes a by-
election;38 this section show types of election by includes presidential election, by election where
this election process in Tanzania is governed by electoral commission as explained and governed
under Article 74 of the constitution of the united Republic of Tanzania39
The both constitution stipulate and explain the election process, providing for the requirement for
one to participate in elections and how the specific election is to be done in case of the election of
president, members of the parliament. Also indicates the organ responsible for supervising and
coordinating elections

CONVERGENCE
Supervision of the election both the constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of`1977 and
the Proposed Draft of 2014 provide that the responsibility of running, supervising and coordination
of the election will be done by the National Election Commission whose members are appointed
by the president that is according to Article 746 of the Constitution of the United Republic of
Tanzania 40 . Also Article 211 of the 2014 Proposed Draft constitution 41 provides for the
responsibility of the Electoral Commission.

35
Shivji I. G. (1991), State and constitutionalism, An African Debate on Democracy, SAPES Books
36
2014 the proposed Draft Constitution
37
Bryan A Garner (ed), Black’s Law Dictionary (9th edn, West Publishing 2009) 594.
38
The National Elections Act (Cap 343, R.E. 2010), s 2.
39
Constitution of the united Republic of Tanzania 1977
40
Constitution of the united Republic of Tanzania 1977
41
2014 the proposed Draft Constitution
Voting rights Both the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania and the 2014 Proposed
Draft provide for the rights for one to participate in the election in Article 209(1) of the 2014
Proposed Draft provide that Tevery citizen of the United Republic of Tanzania having attained the
age of 18years or more who is of sound mind has the right to vote and the right to be registered for
election or referendum”[ Proposed Draft of constitution of Tanzania 2014]42 Also the Constitution
of The United Republic of Tanzania in article 5(1) provides that Tevery citizen of the United
Republic of Tanzania who has attained the age of 18years is entitled to vote in any election held in
Tanzania …”[ The Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania ]43
Presidential time limit, both, Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania and the Proposed
Draft of 2014 provide the time limit for one to run for the presidential seat which is two terms that
is a total of ten years. Article 89(2) provide that a person shall not be allowed to run for and be
elected more than two terms in the position of president, 44 similar to Article 40(2) of the
constitution of United Republic of Tanzania which provides that no person shall be elected more
than twice to hold the office45

DIVERGENCE
Independent Electoral Commission, although both, the Constitution of the United Republic of
Tanzania and the Proposed Draft of 2014 recognize the electoral commission as the organ
responsible for supervising and coordinating the election the 2014 Proposed Draft provides for an
independent electoral commission in Article 211 whose members shall be appointed by the
president after the recommendation by the national committee. The appointment of this members
shall be based on proportionality of the parties of the United Republic that is in order to ensure
fairness in the election and exercising democracy.
Private candidates, the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania of 1977 provide for
anyone to be able to run for any position in the election they must be under a particular political
party WHILE Article 210(1) of the 2014 of the Proposed Constitution provide that Twithout
prejudice to the provision of Article 5 and Article 135 a person shall have the right to stand as an
independent candidate in an election over seen by the independent electoral commission”[ The
Proposed Draft Constitution of 2014 of Tanzania ] The intention was to include more people in the
political sphere and help to exercise their political rights. Example case of CHRISTOPHER
MTIKILA AND ANOTHER VS THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND ANOTHER 46 where The
petitioner was a human rights campaigner and political activist, who wants to stand as a private
candidate during the general election where he challenged the section 8,9,10,15 of political part

42
2014 the proposed Draft Constitution
43
Constitution of the united Republic of Tanzania 1977
44
2014 the proposed Draft Constitution
45
Constitution of the united Republic of Tanzania 1977

46
[1995] TLR 31
actwhich restricted the formation of political parties on the right to freedom of association, also
section 39 of Election act which made impossible for independence candidate to contest election,
where the court Held that "The requirement that a person must be a member of a political party in
order to contest presidential, parliamentary or local government elections violates Articles 21(1),
13(1), and 20(1) of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, 1977"

Petitions of the election results, Article 41(7) of the Constitution of the United Republic of
Tanzania of 1977 provide that Twhen a candidate is declared by the electoral commission to have
been duly elected in accordance with this Article, then no court of law shall have any jurisdiction
to inquire into the election of that candidate”. This applies to the presidential candidates, the
members of parliament can appeal to the High Court. This means that the presidential results are
final WHILE the 2014 Proposed Draft Constitution provides in Article 87(1) provides that T…any
candidate of presidential election who has misgivings about the election may file a petition to High
Court to challenge the declaration of a particular candidate as president elect by the electoral
commission”. This gives the jurisdiction to the High Court to interfere in the national elections and
challenge it's result. Refer case of Jebra Kambole v United Republic of Tanzania47 where The
Applicant was challenging the legality of Article 41(7) of the Constitution which states: TWhen a
candidate is declared by the Electoral Commission to have been duly elected in accordance with
this Article, then no Court of law shall have any jurisdiction to inquire into the election of that
candidate.” where the court Held that "Article 41(7), which prohibited courts from reviewing
presidential election results, discriminated Article 1,2,7(01)(a) of the African charter on human
and people's rights

CONCLUSIONS
The constitution of the united Republic of Tanzania 1977 by the 2014 draft constitution at all
challenged in different ways so as to modernize the balancing of national cohesion with the
devolution of power, maintaining fairnes in the election, right through the governance inspiration
of union as well as the democratic generations as this all changes and amendments intends to
develop democracy as well as democratic governance as it expands a human rights and changes of
or reduce of some powers over some states organs like presidential power so as to brings about
equality as well as rule of law despite the fact that this amendments until now has not yet completed
due to delays and some different factors such as government intervation, political leaders
opposition as this fact of the change of the constitution has remained up to now a seriously
conflicting factors among the ruling part and other opposition parties in Tanzania.

47
1 Jebra Kambole v United Republic of Tanzania, Application No 018/2018 (AfCHPR, 15 July 2020) para 31.
 REFERENCES
Constitution of the united Republic of Tanzania 1977
The Proposed Draft Constitution of Tanzania of 2014
STATUTES
Tanzania Citizenship Act [CAP 357 R.E 2002]
The National Elections Act (Cap 343, R.E. 2010)
CASE
CHRISTOPHER MTIKILA AND ANOTHER VS THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND
ANOTHER [1995] TLR 31
1 Jebra Kambole v United Republic of Tanzania, Application No 018/2018 (AfCHPR, 15 July
2020) para 31.

BOOKS
Shivji I. G. (1991). State and constitutionalism, An African Debate on Democracy, SAPES Books
Shevji I. G. (2004). Constitution and Legal System of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam.
Black's Law Dictionary 9th edition
Webster's 20th century Dictionary