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UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA
Bunge (National Assembly)
ELECTIONS IN 2005

Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module

A historical Archive of past election results for this chamber can be found on a separate page

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 114 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.

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