LHRC Urges Government Action on Electoral Reform.

On April 4, 2024, Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) issued several recommendations to the Government regarding the three electoral bills that President Samia Suluhu Hassan has signed into law: Parliamentary, and Councillors Elections Act, 2024; the Independent National Electoral Commission Act, 2024; and the Political Parties Affairs Act, 2024.

During a press conference in Dar es Salaam, the Executive Director of LHRC, Dr. Anna Henga, gave the following recommendations:

1. LHRC appeals to the Tanzanian Government to table a special Bill on Minimum Constitutional Reforms during the ongoing parliamentary sessions to demonstrate the political will of the current regime. These reforms, aligned with the 4R philosophy (Reconciliation, Resilience, Reforms, and Rebuild), as advocated by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, will intensify the implementation of recommendations from the Presidential Taskforce on Multiparty Democracy, as submitted by Professor Rwekaza Mukandala on October 21, 2022.

2. The Government should table a bill during the ongoing parliamentary sessions to pave the way for constitutional minimum reforms, ensuring meaningful and sustainable changes.

3. A bill on local Government elections should be tabled during the ongoing parliamentary sessions, mandating the National Electoral Commission to coordinate and supervise the local government authorities' elections in 2024, as outlined in section 10(1)(c) of the National Independent Electoral Commission Act.

4. To implement the decision of the High Court of the United Republic of Tanzania on the constitutional petition by Tito Elia Magoti versus the Attorney General and Others, which declared that inmates have the right to vote.

5. The Government should reinstate its position by amending the law and making special arrangements for Tanzanians abroad (Diaspora) to vote, in accordance with what was agreed upon by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Governance, Constitution, and Legal Affairs.

6. Amend the Presidential, Parliamentary, and Councilors Elections Act, 2024, to establish mandatory requirements for candidates to conduct debates at all levels

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