A few takeaways for NEC from the Kenyan election

Dar es Salaam. Kenya recently concluded a historical election, which, despite all the shortfalls that led to the annulment of the presidential results, still had a huge number of people believe that it was exemplary, and that the National Electoral Commission (NEC) of Tanzania had lessons to learn.

NEC director of elections Kailima Ramadhani says despite the impression created among many East Africans, there were areas that NEC did better, and there are areas that needs to be improved.

“I would like to remind our stakeholders that NEC executes its duties in accordance with the 1977 Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, the National Elections Act (Cap 343), Local Government Elections Act (Cap 292), the Local Government (District Authorities) Act (Cap 287), the Local Government (Urban Authorities) Act (Cap 288) together with its various regulations,” notes Mr Kailima.

He, however, points out that NEC has received a number of issues from its stakeholders, who are questioning why the commission is not executing its duties like the Kenyan Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

Challenging presidential results

For example, one of the questions mostly asked is why presidential results in Tanzania are not challenged in court. Mr Kailima explains that Article 41 of the Constitution of Tanzania, states that once NEC has announced the winner of an election, no objection shall be made in court.

“When a candidate is declared by the Electoral Commission to have been duly elected in accordance with this Article, then no court of law shall have any jurisdiction to inquire into the election of that candidate,” read Article 41 (7) of the Constitution.

“It should be noted that the Constitution is the voice of the people, and that is what Tanzanians have agreed at least for now, and we are obliged to obey the constitution accordingly. If the constitution or the Article in question changes, the commission will change too…….,” he says.

Mr Kailima further notes that by winning, it means the one who scoops the majority votes wins; it’s not a question of percentage. And the proportion representation determines the number of Special Seats Member of Parliament and Special Seats Councillors each party gets. Therefore, even if the winner in the presidential race scoops one vote ahead of the opponent, he or she wins.

“Any presidential candidate shall be declared duly elected President only if he has obtained majority of votes,” reads Article 41 (6) of the Constitution.

Independent candidates

On the issue of independent candidates, as compared to Kenyan elections, and given the struggles that some people have gone through over the matter, Mr Kailima is also quick to refer to the Constitution.

“After reading an article in the Constitution it is important to read every other related article for better understanding. Whereas the Constitution says it is the right of a citizen to vote and be voted, Article 67 says that a candidate must be sponsored and endorsed by a political party; therefore, NEC is supposed to adhere to this article and thus it will recognise only those who are endorsed by their parties,” he says.

“Subject to the provisions contained in this Article, any person shall be qualified for election or appointment as a Member of Parliament if he (a) is a citizen of the United Republic who has attained the age of twenty-one years and who can read and write in Kiswahili or English; and …(b) is a member and a candidate proposed by a political party,” reads Article 67 (1) of the constitution.

Mr Kailima adds that NEC will be ready to implement any other legal directives that will be put in the Constitution by Citizens through their Parliament. He refuses to give his personal stance on the matter of independent candidates, citinghis capacity as director of elections. He, however, insists that if the Constitution is changed, he will make sure that NEC adheres to the changes.

Diaspora and inmates voting

While inmates in Kenya are allowed to vote, it’s a different case in Tanzania where prisoners are not allowed. Commenting on the matter, Mr Kailima says: “In Tanzania, we elect the president through our constituencies; polling stations are supposed to be in constituencies, stations are found in districts or municipalities. We have 264 constituencies, and there is nowhere in the Constitution providing for the diaspora nor inmates constituencies, but if we are so directed by the Constitution we have no objection.”

He said Article 74 (6) (C) directs NEC to divide the United Republic of Tanzania into constituencies for the purposes of members of parliament and presidential elections.

“……the responsibilities of the Electoral Commission shall be: (a) to supervise and co-ordinate the registration of voters in Presidential and Parliamentary elections in the United Republic; (b) to supervise and co-ordinate the conduct of the Presidential and Parliamentary election; (c) to review the boundaries and demarcate the United Republic into various areas for the purposes of Parliamentary elections; (d) to supervise and co-ordinate the registration of voters and the conduct of the election of Councilors; and (e) to perform any other functions in accordance with a law enacted by Parliament,” reads the Constitution Article 74 (6).

“Had the law mentioned that we would have a role of organising elections abroad, we would do so without hesitating,” said Mr Kailima.

He said for one to qualify to vote, he or she should register in the permanent voters’ registry, and according to the laws, it is necessary that political parties are represented in the registration process; the current laws have not given room to having polling stations at embassies or in prison.

Mr Kailima adds that in the voting process, political parties have their representatives as well, and the current laws have not put in place such logistics for members of the diaspora and inmates, because the Constitution has not recognised the right of Tanzanians in diaspora or inmates to vote.

Does the commission has influence in these matters? Mr Kailima says the commission does not have any influence on these matter, but proponents of electoral reforms have the right to channel their issues through organs responsible with law formulation, such as the Office of the Attorney General or the National Assembly. He reiterates that the commission is more than ready to implement any changes that may be effected.

Technology question

On whether or not poor technology is the reason Tanzania is yet to embrace changes to engage diaspora in the voting process, Mr Kailima responds: “Not true. The IEBC does not have a more sophisticated technology; there were over 40,000 polling stations in the just-ended elections in Kenya, but 11,000 were not part of the electronic system. They were using a registry, we have over 65,000 polling stations, 1,504 of which are in Zanzibar. The rest are in Tanzania Mainland, we are using our permanent voters’ registry……..

“Compared to Kenya, we are more open to our voters and stakeholders in general, every one month before elections, we handover a copy of the registry to each political party. I am not sure if this is the case in Kenya. The book is printed and political parties give copies to their representatives in polling stations from where they will be used to verify the list of voters against the one that is available in a polling station.”

He adds that NEC’s systems are more comprehensive and transparent, and largely reduces the possibilities of conflict related to suspected cheating.

“We have technology too, we are very good in that area as the Commission; and if one is to compare our efficiency and speed in announcing results, we are better. In announcing results, there are provisional results and partial results -- the latter is more credible than the former, whereas we announce partial results, IECB announces provisional results without necessarily checking against Form 34a in the polling station, 34b in the constituency, which carries authentic, verified and official results,” he says.

He adds: “Here in Tanzania, we announce partial results on Form Number 24a from the constituency, results which have been verified by argents of all the candidates and returning officers. When they bring the results to us, we don’t change anything. This is what was lacking in Kenya.”

Tallying of votes

To ensure openness and ensure political parties or candidates do not cry foul, NEC normally invites them to a place where the tallying of votes is conducted so they can witness what is going on.

He explains that tallying stations compile constituency and presidential results while those of councillors are done at ward level.

Mr Kailima further explains that at polling stations, there is Form Number 21A, which has presidential results; political parties’ representatives are given copies, the results are compiled at constituency level on Form number 24A.

He says: “We expect that argents will have their forms to check against what is compiled at the constituency level and at national level. The Kenyan situation was different, with their system which many people here think is comprehensive, they announced provisional results, that is why later on they had to lock themselves inside and start going through one form after another, suppose if things didn’t go well what would happen?”

“I want people to understand that even in the United Kingdom, the manual system is applied, I am not saying that the manual system is better, my point here is that the use of provisional results gives room for error, so it is better late and arrive than hurry and face obstacles.”

Announcing results

Mr Kailima points out that a comparison between the IEBC’s just-ended elections and NEC’s 2015 process, the latter was quicker in announcing the winner after spending only 72 hours for the presidential race.

But there is room for improvement. Mr Kailima notes that NEC is planning to put in place a system that allows all confirmed results to be updated and displayed in real time.

He says: “We want to make sure that shortly after the announcement of a winning candidate is made by the chairman of the Commission, the system displays them immediately.”

Independence of NEC

Commenting on the independence of NEC, Mr Kailima says it is alarming that those who complain about the commission’s independence only do so during elections.

“I have never heard any politician complaining about the failure by the commission to execute its duties, the ones that are stipulated by the law; they only fault NEC during elections, saying that it is not independent. This is not fair. We want to see politicians coming with tangible evidence, for example, one should come with a Form that has different results from the ones that have been announced by the Commission, but mere claims of foul play by NEC without evidence can be perceived as ill commentary,” he says.

Media participation

Commenting on media participations, Mr Kailima notes that the Tanzanian media should learn from Kenya, where journlists were committed to informing the people about all the procedures, especially during elections.

He also believes that the Kenyan media had more variety of programmes related to elections, and not all the information was sourced from IEBC. The NEC officials, however, adds that the commission will reach out to the media, to make it easier for journalists to cover elections. “I want to assure our stakeholders that 2020 elections will be like no other, we will do a lot to improve technology,” he says.

The writer of this article is NEC’s information officer