The Tanzanian Constitutional Review Commission is the national commission established as per the Constitutional Review Act of 2011 for the collection of public opinion on the review of the Constitution of Tanzania and its validation via a referendum. [1] Key aspects of the review were legal frameworks for the state of the union, the presidency and the contentious aspect of human rights, which were included in an amendment after public protests. [2] On 6 April 2012 President Jakaya Kikwete appointed the former Attorney General and Prime Minister Joseph Warioba as its chairman and the former Chief Justice Augustino Ramadhani as its vice chairman. The Commission was expected to complete its task by October 2013, [3] with an estimated cost of TSh 40 billion during the 2012/13 fiscal year. [4]
The commission collected views from citizens of different regions within the country and prepared two constitutional drafts for discussion and vote by the National constituent assembly. The assembly was divided on the core issues of union framework and Zanzibar autonomy. After missing the deadline and the extension, the process was stalled by the walkout of the Ukawa party from the constituent assembly and also the Government of National Unity (GNU) in 2015. [5] The process was expected to restart after the elections of 2020 but the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party (CCM) has not committed to a constitutional amendment so far. [6]
Members from Mainland Tanzania | Members from Zanzibar |
---|---|
Prof. Mwesiga Baregu | Dr Salim Ahmed Salim |
Riziki Shahari Mngwali | Fatma Said Ali |
Dr Edmund Sengondo Mvungi | Omar Sheha Mussa |
Richard Shadrack Lyimo | Raya Salim Hamad |
John Nkolo | Awadh Ali Said |
Alhaj Said Hamad El-Maamry | Ussi Khamis Haji |
Jesca Mkuchu | Salma Maoulidi |
Prof. Palamagamba Kabudi | Nassor Khamis Mohamed |
Humphrey Polepole | Simai Mohamed Said |
Yahya Msulwa | Mohamed Yusuph Mshamba |
Esther Mkwizu | Kibibi Mwinyi Hassan |
Maria Malingumu Kashonda | Suleiman Omar Ali |
Al-Shaymaa Kwegyir | Salama Kombo Ahmed |
Mwantumu Malale | Abubakar Mohamed Ali |
Joseph Butiku | Ally Abdullah Ally Saleh |
Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to the south; Zambia to the southwest; and Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, is in northeastern Tanzania.
The politics of Tanzania takes place in a framework of a unitary presidential democratic republic, whereby the President of Tanzania is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The party system is dominated by the Chama Cha Mapinduzi. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Tanganyika was a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania, that existed from 1961 until 1964. It first gained independence from the United Kingdom on 9 December 1961 as a state headed by Queen Elizabeth II before becoming a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations a year later. After signing the Articles of Union on 22 April 1964 and passing an Act of Union on 25 April, Tanganyika officially joined with the People's Republic of Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar on Union Day, 26 April 1964. The new state changed its name to the United Republic of Tanzania within a year.
The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens. It is the longest written national constitution in the world.
The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Government. The current constitution, the country's fifth, was drawn up by the Parliament elected in 1994 in the South African general election, 1994. It was promulgated by President Nelson Mandela on 18 December 1996 and came into effect on 4 February 1997, replacing the Interim Constitution of 1993. The first constitution was enacted by the South Africa Act 1909, the longest-lasting to date. Since 1961, the constitutions have promulgated a republican form of government.
Ali Hassan Mwinyi is a Tanzanian politician, who served as the second President of the United Republic of Tanzania from 1985 to 1995. Previous posts include Interior Minister and Vice President. He also was chairman of the ruling party, the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) from 1990 to 1996.
The Civic United Front is a liberal party in Tanzania. Although nationally based, most of the CUF's support comes from the Zanzibar islands of Unguja and Pemba. The party is a member of Liberal International.
Salim Ahmed Salim is a Tanzanian politician and diplomat who has worked in the international diplomatic arena since the early 1960s.
The Zanzibar House of Representatives is the unicameral, subnational legislature of the autonomous islands of Zanzibar in Tanzania.
Aboud Jumbe Mwinyi was a Zanzibari politician. He held several positions, including the second president of Zanzibar, chairman of the Revolutionary Council, Vice-President of the Union, and the vice-chairman of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party.
Amending the Constitution of India is the process of making changes to the nation's fundamental law or supreme law. The procedure of amendment in the constitution is laid down in Part XX of the Constitution of India. This procedure ensures the sanctity of the Constitution of India and keeps a check on arbitrary power of the Parliament of India.
In 1964 Tanganyika and Zanzibar formed the United Republic of Tanzania. After the Treaty of the Union, the two countries continued to remain with their own legal systems including court structures. In the 1977 Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, the High Court of Tanganyika whose jurisdiction was and still is territoriality limited to Tanzania Mainland was called the High Court of Tanzania and the High Court of Zanzibar retained its original name. It is essential to note that the High Court of Tanzania only has territorial jurisdiction over legal issues arising in Tanzania Mainland and the High Court of Zanzibar has territorial jurisdiction over legal issues arising in Zanzibar.
The Constitution of Tanzania, formally Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania and also known as Permanent Constitution or Fourth Constitution of Tanzania, was ratified in 1977. Before the current establishment, Tanzania has had three constitutions: the Independence Constitution (1961), the Republican Constitution (1962), and the Interim Constitution of the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar (1964).
The Chama Cha Mapinduzi is the dominant ruling party in Tanzania and the second longest-ruling party in Africa, only after the True Whig Party of Liberia. It was formed in 1977, following the merger of the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) and the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP), which were the sole operating parties in mainland Tanzania and the semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar respectively.
Samia Suluhu Hassan is a Tanzanian politician who has been serving since 2021 as the sixth president of Tanzania. She is a member of the ruling social-democrat Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party and the third female head of government of an East African Community (EAC) country.
Hussein Ali Mwinyi is the 8th president of Zanzibar. The son of former Tanzanian president Ali Hasan Mwinyi, he is a member of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) political party.
General elections were held in Tanzania on 25 October 2015. Voters elected the president, members of Parliament, and local government councillors. By convention, the election was held on the last Sunday of October and was supervised by the National Electoral Commission (NEC). Political campaigns commenced on 22 August and ceased a day before the polling day.
A constitutional referendum was planned to be held in Tanzania on 30 April 2015. However, delays to voter registration led to it being postponed, and as of 2021 the vote has still not been rescheduled.
General elections were held in Tanzania on 28 October 2020 to elect the President and National Assembly. The presidential election was won by incumbent John Magufuli of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi party.
Zanzibari independence is a political ambition of some political parties, advocacy groups, and individuals of Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous region territory within Tanzania, to become an independent sovereign state.