Draft Law proposes Speaker, Deputy without party links

Dar es Salaam. Parliament is set for major changes, including having a fully independent speaker and deputy speaker, should the draft constitution released yesterday receive the nod by the public in a referendum.

MPs would now serve a maximum of three 5-year consecutive terms, a departure from the current tradition where one may run for parliament for as long as he gets his party, nod and finally, his constituents’ approval in the ballot.

Voters would also enjoy proposed new powers to recall their MP should he or she fail to meet their expectations.

Another sweeping proposal is the abolition of Special Seats, usually reserved for women MPs and other “marginalised” groups in the current dispensation and which now will be reduced to five seats and be set aside only for the disabled.

The President will nominate the five. The Commission proposed that each constituency will now elect two MPs, a woman and a man. It was not stated in the Draft if the current number of Constituencies will have to be reduced.

There will also be no bi-elections, with the draft law instead proposing that political parties losing the member fill the vacant seat by replacing them with candidates who came second in the nomination race. However a bi-election will be held if the vacating member is from the Independent pool that has been proposed.

A drastic departure in the draft law is the proposal that from the next general election, the speaker of the national assembly and the deputy should be independent individuals not beholden to any political party. They will also not be elected from among the MPs as it is the case now. The move, according to the Constitutional Review Commission Charman Judge (rtd) Joseph Warioba, is to ensure total independence of the two key positions, strengthen democracy and ensure separation of powers.

Chapter three of current constitution Article 84 (1) states, “There shall be a Speaker of the National Assembly who shall be elected by the Members of Parliament from amongst persons who are Members of Parliament or who are qualified to be Members of Parliament and shall be the Leader of the National Assembly in all other institutions and meetings.”

The Commission further proposed that Parliament retains its immunity from interference by the executive so as to play its role as a third pillar with oversight on the government.

Chapter three Article 100 (1) of the current constitution says, “There shall be freedom of opinion, debate and procedure of business in the National Assembly, and that freedom shall not be breached or questioned by any organ in the United Republic or in any court or elsewhere outside the National Assembly.”