NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES

» OBJECTIONS

There are two levels of nomination of Candidates. Nomination within a Political Party and nomination by the Commission.

» Nomination within Political Parties

Nomination of Presidential and Parliamentary Candidates within Political Parties is done under a respective Party’s Constitution before submission to the Commission for nomination.

» Nomination by the Commission

The National Electoral Commission nominates Candidates from the names submitted to it by the Political Parties.

Nomination Authorities

The authorities that deal with the nominations of candidates are as follows: -

Presidential Candidate / Vice Presidential Candidate - National Electoral Commission (NEC) Parliamentary Candidate - Returning Officer (RO) of the Constituency Candidate for Councillors' Election - Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) at the Ward

Presidential and vice presidential
Parliamentary
Councillor

Article 39 (1) of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, 1977 provides for qualifications and conditions for the nomination of Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates.

» Qualifications

(i) he/she is a citizen of the United Republic by birth in terms of the citizenship law;

(ii)he/she has attained the age of forty years;

(iii) he/she is a Member of, and a Candidate proposed by a Political Party;

(iv) he/she is qualified to be a Member of Parliament or a Member of the House of Representatives; and

(v) he/she has not been convicted by any court for an offence of tax evasion within a period of five years before the date of Election.

» Conditions

Conditions for the nomination of a Candidate for a Presidential and Vice-Presidential seat are as follows;

(i) If a Presidential candidate hails from one part of the Union then the Vice-Presidential candidate should hail from the other part of the Union.

(ii) he/she must be supported by not less than two hundred people who are registered as voters from each of at least ten regions of the United Republic, out of which at least two regions are in Tanzania Zanzibar;

(iii) deposit with the Commission a sum of T.Shs.1, 00,000/= (one million);

(iv) make a statutory declaration before a Judge of the High Court or Court of Appeal that he/she has the required qualifications, and that he/she is not disqualified for Election;

(v) deliver his/her duly filled nomination forms before 4.00 p.m. of the nomination day with four half size postcard coloured photographs.

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» Qualifications

A person shall be qualified for election or appointment as Member of Parliament if;

(i) he/she is a citizen of Tanzania

(ii) he/she has attained the age of twenty one years or above

(iii) he/she can read and write in Kiswahili or English

(iv) he/she is a member of, and a candidate proposed, by a Political Party.

(v) he/she has not been convicted by any Court for an offence of tax evasion within a period of five years before Election

[Article 67 of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania,1977]

» Disqualifications

A person is not qualified to be elected or appointed as a Member of Parliament if;

(i) such person possesses or voluntarily acquires the citizenship of any other country; or

(ii) in accordance with the law applicable in the United Republic of Tanzania it has been formally certified that such person is of unsound mind; or

(iii)such person has been convicted by any court in the United Republic and sentenced to death or to a term of imprisonment exceeding six months for a conviction of any offence however, styled, involving dishonesty; or

(iv) within a period of five years preceding the date of a General Elections such person has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for an offence involving dishonesty or for contravening the law concerning ethics of public leaders; or

(v) he/she is not a member of, and a candidate proposed by a Political Party; or

(vi) such person has interest in any Government contract of any kind in respect of which special restrictions are prescribed by Act of Parliament and he has contravened such restrictions; or

(vii) such person holds a senior office in the service of the Government of the United Republic, not being an Office to which the President may or is required to appoint a Member of Parliament in accordance with the Constitution of the United Republic, or a law enacted by Parliament; or

(viii) In accordance with a law enacted by Parliament dealing with offences concerning Election of any kind such person has been disqualified from registering as a voter or from voting in a Parliamentary Election; or

(ix) He/she is a Presidential/Vice Presidential Candidate of the United Republic of Tanzania.

» Conditions

Conditions for the nomination of a Parliamentary Candidate are as Follows;

(i) he/she should be supported by not less than twenty five people who have been registered as voters in the respective constituency;

(ii) he/she should make a statutory declaration before a Magistrate to confirm that he has the required qualifications to contest for the Parliamentary seat, and he is not disqualified for election;

(iii) he/she should deposit with the Returning Officer a sum of T.Shs. 50,000 (fifty thousand) in cash;

(iv) he/she should deliver his duly filled nomination forms not later than 4.00 p.m. of the nomination day with four postcard size photographs.

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» Qualifications

A person is qualified for Election if;

(i) he/she is a citizen of Tanzania;

(ii) he/she has attained the age of twenty one years or above;

(iii) he/she ordinarily resides within the area of jurisdiction of Local Authority;

(iv) he/she can read and write in Kiswahili or English;

(v) he/she is a member of, and sponsored by a political Party which is registered under the Political Parties Act (No. 5 of 1992);

(vi) He/she has a lawful means of livelihood; and

(vii) He/she has not been convicted for an offence of tax evasion within a period of five years before the date of Election.

[Section 39 (2) of the Local Authorities (Elections) Act (No. 4 of 1979)].

» Disqualifications

Even if a person has the qualifications stated above, he/she cannot be nominated in election if;

(i) he/she is under a declaration of allegiance to some country other than the United Republic of Tanzania; or

(ii) he/she is under the law adjudged to be of unsound mind; or

(iii) he/she is under sentence of death imposed on him by any court in Tanzania; or

(iv) he/she is under a sentence of imprisonment exceeding six months imposed on him by any court in Tanzania; or

(v) he/she is detained under an order made under the Preventive Detention Act, 1962 and has so been detained under the order for a period exceeding six months; or

(vi) he/she has been deported, in accordance with the provisions of the Deportation Ordinance, under an order made under that Ordinance which has been in force for a period exceeding six months, and is still in force; or

(vii) if he/she is a party to, or a partner in a firm or manager of a company which is a party to any subsisting contract with the local authority to which he/she seeks election and has not, within one month before the date of nomination, published in the Kiswahili and English language newspapers circulating within the area of authority concerned, a notice setting the nature of the contract and his/her interest or the interest of the firm or company in the contract.

(viii) He holds or acts in any office or appointment in the service of the United Republic or a local authority; or

(ix) He is disqualified from registering as a voter or disqualified from voting at any Election under any written law relating to offences connected with any Election.

(Section 40 of the Local Authorities (Elections) Act (No. 4 of 1979).

» Conditions

Conditions for nomination of a Candidate for councillors’ Elections are;

(i) he/she should be supported by not less than ten voters within the ward he/she seeks Election;

(ii) he/she should take an oath before the Magistrate that he/she is willing and qualified to stand for an election, and he/she is not disqualified;

(iii) he/she must deposit Tshs. 5,000/= with the Returning Officer;

(iv) he/she must submit the duly filled nomination papers to the Returning Officer not later than 4.00 p.m. of the nomination day with four postcard size photographs.

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Objection and Determination against Nomination

Upon receipt of nomination papers, a Returning Officer must cause a copy of the nomination papers of each candidate to be placed in a conspicuous place outside his/her office to enable other candidates who wish to object to do so.

• Who can file objections

Objections may be made against nomination papers of a candidate by;

i. Another candidate;
ii. The Director of Elections;
iii. The Returning Officer or Assistant Returning Officer on his/her own motion.

• Objections against validity of Nomination Paper

Objections may be based on all or any of the following grounds:

i. That the particulars given in respect of the candidate are insufficient to identify him.
ii. That the nomination paper does not comply with the law.
iii. That it is apparent from the content of the nomination papers that the candidate is not qualified.

All objections must be made to the Returning Officer before four o’clock in the afternoon of the day following nomination date.

Determination of Objections

(a) Where a Returning Officer or Assistant Returning Officer makes an objection on his/her own motion, he/she must before making a finding inform the candidate concerned in writing. After making the finding on the objection, the Returning Officer must refer such finding to the Electoral Commission.
(b) The Returning Officer, with the least possible delay, must decide on the validity of every objection and inform the candidate concerned of his/her decision.
(c) A candidate aggrieved by the decision of the Returning Officer may appeal through the Returning Officer, to the National Electoral Commission within forty eight hours after receiving the Returning Officer’s decision. The decision of the National Electoral Commission is final and conclusive.

Appeals against Nomination

Any candidate who is dissatisfied with the decision of the Returning Officer on the validity of an objection may, in such a manner and within such period as the Commission may prescribe, appeal to the Commission. The decision of the Commission shall be final and conclusive, and shall not be challenged in any court, except by way of an election petition presented pursuant to the provisions of the law.

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