A network of Women in Constitution, Elections and Leadership has opposed the current procedure in which women are selected for appointment for special seats, proposing a voting exercise by citizens based on a person’s criteria and abilities
Dar es Salaam. A network of Women in Constitution, Elections and Leadership has opposed the current procedure in which women are selected for appointment for special seats, proposing a voting exercise by citizens based on a person’s criteria and abilities.
They said this on Monday as part of their recommendations to the three bills pending amendment which were presented and read for the first time in Parliament in November 2023.
The bills include the amendment bill for the Election of the President, Members of Parliament and Councillors of 2023, the Political Parties amendment Bill 2023 and the National Electoral Commission amendment bill 2023.
Reading a joint statement on behalf of other members, the vice-chairperson of the network, Ms Mary Ndaro, said they wanted legal changes that will enable them to achieve 50/50 representation through constituencies so that women can be voted for instead of leaving it to the parties to determine their selection.
“We demand an open, free and safe system that enables women to exercise their basic right to choose, to be chosen by competing, win or lose based on ability and expertise,” she said.
Ms Ndaro said the current system of special seats is in conflict with the desire to build a gender inclusive democracy as it has created a hierarchy and discrimination between representatives of the constituencies and those in special seats when it comes to the selection in various positions.
According to the current process, Ms Ndaro said, a woman in special seats cannot participate or be appointed to the position of Prime Minister, Speaker of Parliament, among other important positions.
A senior activist, Dr Hellen Kijo-Bisimba, claimed the current system has been denying women participation in voting where political parties have been left with the responsibility of deciding who to appoint in response to the interests of those parties, “there is no transparency and sometimes it does not take into account a person’s ability.” “This system also puts women at great risk of going through acts of violence during the processes at parties, including sexual bribery.” Another issue they discussed is the responsibility of political parties in building gender equality where according to their analysis, the amendment Bill for Political Parties 2023 does not oblige parties to consider the basis of gender in the selection of candidates, nor oblige them to allocate a fund for empowerment implementation of gender policy.
“We want this Bill to add a new element that requires parties to have a gender policy that shows programmes for building the capacity of women to participate at the decision-making tables...,” said Dr Kijo-Bisimba.
The group recommended that the amendment bill for the election of President, Members of Parliament and Councillors specify gender equality by asking all parties interested in competing for the position of President, to nominate two candidates; presidential candidate and his vice based on gender.
“We want if the candidate for the presidency is a woman, then her partner should be a man or vice versa,” said a member of the network, Ms Gema Akilimali.
She said that if the basis of gender equality is not defined then after the current President’s term ends, it may be difficult for a woman to take that high position in the country again.
According to the network, the Electoral Commission Bill 2023, did not specify the basis of gender equality nor considered in guiding the selection of senior executives to manage the elections.
