EACJ: Procedure to elect Tanzanian MPs in EALA was flawed

Arusha. 

The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) declared in Arusha in a landmark decision that rules were openly broken in Parliament during the election of the nine MPs in the regional legislative assembly.

The future of Tanzania MPs in the East Africa Legislative Assembly (Eala) was thrown into uncertainty yesterday following a court decision that found that the procedure to elect them was flawed.

The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) declared in Arusha in a landmark decision that rules were openly broken in Parliament during the election of the nine MPs in the regional legislative assembly.

The EACJ decision wraps up a case filed by a senior member of the main opposition party, Chadema. 

Mr Anthony Calist Komu challenged the omission of the party’s MPs in 2012. Chadema, which has a superior number of legislators in the House in relation to other opposition parties, could not manage even a single slot in the regional assembly.

The EACJ yesterday agreed with the party’s lawyers that the omission of the party’s candidates in the contest was in flagrant violation of Article 50 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community (EAC).

The move now accords Chadema the evidence and momentum to push for the nullification of the election of the MPs in another case opened at the High Court in Dodoma seeking their nullification. The EACJ has no powers to throw out the MPs.

According to the court, Tanzania’s Parliament not only failed to comply with the principle of proportional representation in picking the Eala lawmakers but also allowed candidates from political parties not represented in the National Assembly to contest the polls.

Mr Komu filed the case on June 15, 2012, having unsuccessfully sought election as a Tanzania representative in Eala in elections held on April 17, 2012.

The EAC Treaty requires the national assembly of each partner state to elect nine Eala members to represent “as much as it is feasible”, the various political parties represented in the specific national assembly and other special interest groups.

According to Chadema, had the proper formula been applied, Candidate Komu--as the sole candidate offered by the party, would have been elected to the regional House.

Instead, he argued, skewed rules ensured that he was not elected, paving the way for candidates offered by “smaller” parties such as Civic United Front and NCCR-Mageuzi to get into the Eala.

The election of Tanzanian Eala lawmakers, he added, was in violation of Article 50 of the EAC Treaty when the Tanzania  Democratic Alliance was allowed to field a candidate despite having no representation in the House.

According to Mr Komu, Chadema had 49 MPs in the National Assembly while the ruling CCM had 258 and CUF 36 members. He argued that their representation in the Eala ought to have been mathematically calculated at 14 per cent, 74 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.

In that order, Chadema and CUF would have each managed to squeeze one legislator into the regional House, with seven seats going to the ruling CCM. But this was not the case as the election saw an NCCR-Mageuzi candidate win. In a ruling that lasted nearly an hour, Principal EACJ Judge John Bosco Butasi said Chadema, being the official opposition political party and Mr Komu its sole nominee to Eala, were both entitled to automatic representation in that Assembly.

“The election rules must enable the establishment of an electoral process that ensures equal opportunity to become a candidate, full participation and competition for specified groupings and, at the end of the process, their effective representation in the Eala,” he said.

Also in question was the fielding of Mr Lifa Chipaka whose party Tadea, has no representation in the National Assembly. The Attorney General wanted the matter dismissed on the grounds that the matters Mr Komu made were “lighthearted, insignificant and contrary to the Rules of Procedure of the court and also lacking merit”..

interest group as opposed to other opposition political parties, according to the AG.

“Our findings are clear and we reiterate that Article 50 of the EAC Treaty provides a right for representatives of the official opposition party in Parliament to an automatic chance of representation,” the Judge said.

Source: The Citizen