Chronicles of Women Participation in the 2020 General Elections in Tanzania

By Dr. Victoria Lihiru, Esq. – The Open University of Tanzania

At the parliamentary level, there were about 24, 27, 47, and 63 women nominated by CCM, ACT, CUF and CHADEMA, respectively out of 264 parliamentary constituencies. Surprisingly, 28 parliamentary candidates (all from CCM) sailed unopposed, including two women. Overall, only 9% of all candidates in all positions in the 2020 general election were women -13.3% and 33% were presidential and vice-president candidates respectively, 23.3% were parliamentary candidates, while 7% were councilor candidates.

One of the causes of the low number of women candidates nominated by political parties is the Political Parties (Amendment) Act, 2019. For the first time the Act demanded political parties to ensure the inclusion of women in the election of political party leadership and electoral candidates. Progressive as it sounds, the Act is ineffective in commanding compliance by the political parties and enforcement by the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties. The Act does not stipulate the threshold i.e. number or percentage of women the political party should have as its members, leaders and or candidates to demonstrate its compliance with the Act. It is therefore at the discretion of political parties to determine level of compliance.

The number of women candidates was also reduced as NEC disqualified many of them for ostensibly not fulfilling basic requirements. For example, although ACT nominated 27 women at the parliamentary level, only 11 were qualified by NEC. While NEC vehemently disputes the allegation, the opposition political parties argue that the reasons put forward by NEC to disqualify their candidates were based on flimsy technical errors.

For women candidates, passing through the nomination process was just one hurdle out of many. As in previous elections, incidences of harassment and violence against women were reported but have not (yet) been systematically documented. These elections had a number of cases that circulated widely on social media. Most alarming were the cases involving Catherine Ruge (CHADEMA) being teargassed, beaten and her clothes torn and; Esther Matiko (CHADEMA) being mishandled by the police and touched inappropriately. In Nkasi Constituency, the CCM parliamentary candidate told the public at a rally that they should not vote for a woman candidate because she will not be able to represent them when she is on her period. In another clip from Mara, a campaign manager appealed to people to vote for a male candidate while labelling a female candidate a ‘prostitute.’

Even at the presidential level, misogynistic narratives about women were rife. CCM’s presidential candidate told the public to vote for a light-skinned woman candidate as he is more likely to listen to her than to a dark-skinned one, a remark that CCM followers say was ‘just a joke’ despite its unconstitutionality. Queen Sendiga, the presidential candidate for ADC alleged to have had her vehicle windscreen smashed by unknown individuals.

The levels of harassment and misogynistic statements levelled their way made some women candidates complain bitterly that women rights organisations never come to their assistance when they need it. For example, the ADC Presidential candidate complained that CSOs make women attend seminars for capacity building but are nowhere to be seen when women are actually contesting. Catherine Ruge also tweeted about the apparent absence of women rights organisations when women candidates were being harassed.

The official voter turnout for these elections was 50.7 %, a higher number than in 2015. Preliminary observation reports put women turnout to be higher than men. However, only 25 women won in constituencies (23 from CCM, one from CHADEMA and one from CUF). A further 113 will enter parliament through the ‘Special Seats’ quota for women, five more from ten presidential appointments, and two or three from the Zanzibar House of Representatives. Since the re-adoption of multiparty system, the number of the women has steadily been increasing with each election. For the first time in 2020, the number of women in the Parliament has not increased. Just like 2015, the women in the 2020-2025 parliament will remain at 37 per cent.

The women special seats have taken an interesting turn in 2020. By law, any party that gains 5% or above of all votes cast for parliamentary positions during the general elections is entitled to a corresponding number of ‘special seats.’ According to NEC, CCM is entitled to 94 seats, CHADEMA is entitled to 19 seats and there is no other eligible party. Despite CHADEMA being entitled to special seats, the public stance of the party is that they cannot submit names of women special seats candidates to NEC because they don’t recognize the election results.

Despite this official party stance, nineteen women from CHADEMA under the leadership of the then chair of the women wing were sworn in as Special Seats Members of Parliament. Following this event, CHADEMA expelled the 19 women from the party, accusing them of sabotaging and betraying the party. Contrary to the constitutional condition of all members of parliament having to belong to a political party, the Speaker of National Assembly Job Ndugai has stated that the 19 women will continue to serve as parliamentarians despite the opposition party’s move to expel them.

The ongoing fracas on women special seats portrays the challenges around the implementation of special seats in the country. While in Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda, women special seats are voted in from districts, constituencies and or counties, in Tanzania each political party has its own modality of obtaining women for special seats and the party has final say on who gets the seat. While Article 4 of the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), 1979 requires the special seats to be temporary, in Tanzania one can hold a special seat endlessly.

Management of the election and electoral violence has implication on how women take part in elections. This year, election observation groups provided contradictory conclusions regarding the management and outcome of the elections. Observer groups from the East Africa Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC), and local groups such as the Research and Education for Democracy in Tanzania (REDET), deemed the elections to be generally free and fair, conducted in professional manner and in a peaceful and free environment. Groups such as Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA), Tanzania Elections Watch (TEW), and some diplomatic missions reported that the elections were flawed, conducted with limited transparency and freedom, and marred by violence, restrictions of the media and internet with indications of mismanagement.

Leaders of the two main opposition political parties’ – CHADEMA and ACT – refused to recognize the election. They called for peaceful demonstrations, which went largely unheeded and led to the arrest of a number of opposition leaders, including female leaders, who were later released on bail. However, the accusations of election rigging and intimidation are highly disputed by the NEC.

While presidential results remain unchallenged, anyone aggrieved by the parliamentary election can petition before the courts of law within 30 days. Ignorance, lack of trust on the judiciary and the security of cost of up to five million Tanzanian shilling for a parliamentary candidate will hinder many women from contesting the election results. It may also discourage many of them from contesting in future elections.

Lastly, the first phase of the fifth administration (2015-2020) was renowned for its male-dominated presidential appointments. In his speech while inaugurating the 12th Parliament, President Magufuli promised to provide opportunities for women to take part in decision making positions and processes. On whether the women should take part in a fairly or unfairly constituted government calls for another piece of writing.