| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Bunge / National Assembly |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
14 December 2005 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for the 232 elective seats of Parliament. The elections
originally scheduled for 30 October 2005
were postponed following the death of one candidate for vice-president
running mate of the CHADEMA party. |
Parliamentary elections were held on 18 December 2005 in parallel with presidential elections. Following a constitutional amendment
the statutory number of seats in parliament (Bunge) was increased from 295 to 324
of which 232 seats are directly elected.
In the outgoing parliament
the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) held 254 seats; the Civic United Front (CUF) held 22; the Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) and the Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendelo (CHADEMA) held five each
and the United Democratic Party (UDP)
two. Seven seats were vacant.
The elections had originally been scheduled for 30 October 2005 but were postponed due to the death of an opposition vice-presidential candidate. The National Electoral Commission announced on 27 October that only presidential elections would be postponed
but later decided to delay both parliamentary and presidential elections on mainland Tanzania. Elections in the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar were held on 30 October as scheduled.
The decision to delay both polls on mainland Tanzania is believed to have been based on the exorbitant cost of organizing two sets of elections within two months. Some opposition candidates from the CUF criticized the government's decision
saying a week's delay would have been enough. They also argued that many opposition candidates would not be able to afford to finance extra campaigning.
Throughout the election campaign
both the ruling and the opposition parties promised to increase employment and fight corruption.
Approximately 12.9 million of Tanzania's 38 million inhabitants were registered to vote. On 18 December 2005
a public holiday in Tanzania
72 per cent of registered voters turned out at the polls.
The elections went off in relative peace on the mainland
while clashes between opposition supporters and the police were reported in Zanzibar.
In all
some 200 observers from the Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF)
the African Union (AU)
the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and the European Union (EU) monitored the elections. The AU and SADC PF observers declared the polls free and fair
despite the violence reported in Zanzibar. The European Union praised Tanzania for holding multiparty presidential
legislative and local government elections
and congratulated the National Electoral Commission for professional manner in which it had administered the elections.
The CCM won 206 seats
while the opposition parties won a total of 26: 19 for the CUF
five for CHADEMA and one each for the TLP and the UDP.
In the presidential election
the CCM candidate
Mr. Jakaya Kikwete
was elected with more than 80 per cent of the votes.
The new parliament held its first session on 28 December 2005 and elected Mr. Samuel Sitta as its new speaker.
Note :
Mr. Jumbe Mohamed Jumbe
running mate to the CHADEMA presidential candidate
Mr. Freeman Mbowe
died on 27 October 2005 of an undetermined illness. Under Tanzanian electoral law
additional time has to be allowed for nomination and campaigning in the event of the death of a Union presidential candidate. The decision to postpone the Union elections was based on the provisions of Article 46(3) of the Tanzania Electoral Laws Act Number 1 (1985) and Clause 48(1) (a) of the Electoral Laws (Local Governments) Number 4 (1979)
which empower the National Electoral Commission to set new dates for elections under such circumstances. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 14 December 2005 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
15'705'223
11'389'530 (72.52%)
607'923
10'781'607 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Revolutionary Party of Tanzania (CCM) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Civic United Front (CUF) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Chadema (Party for Democracy and Development) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| United Democratic Party |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Revolutionary Party of Tanzania (CCM) |
206
|
|
|
|
|
| Civic United Front (CUF) |
19
|
|
|
|
|
| Chadema (Party for Democracy and Development) |
5
|
|
|
|
|
| Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| United Democratic Party |
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
222
97
30.03%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Statistics for directly elected seats.
Sources:
- http://www.nec.go.tz/
- National Assembly (01.01.2010)
As at 20 January 2006
there are 319 members
of whom 97 are women.
Four additional members can be appointed by the President
of two must be women (06.02.2006).
Breakdown for 97 women:
- 17 were elected from constituencies;
- 75 were elected under special seats for women;
- Two women (of five members) from Zanzibar;
- Three appointed members.
|
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
