AFRICAN ELECTIONS DATABASE
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Elections in Tanzania
 
Political Profile
Political System: Democracy
President: Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete (CCM) [since 21 December 2005; elected 2005, re-elected 2010] The President is elected by direct popular vote for a 5-year term. Electoral System: First Past The Post.
Prime Minister: Mizengo Pinda (CCM) [since 9 February 2008] The Prime Minister is appointed by the President.
National Assembly [unicameral] (357 Seats) 239 members are elected by direct popular vote in single-member constituencies using the first-past-the-post system, 102 seats are reserved for women elected by their political parties on the basis of proportional representation among the political parties represented in the National Assembly, 5 members are indirectly elected by the Zanzibar House of Representatives, up to 10 members may be appointed by the President, and 1 seat is reserved for the Attorney-General; members serve 5-year terms.
Electoral Authority: National Electoral Commission
Political Situation since Independence
-Tanganyika [1961-1962]/Republic of Tanganyika [1962-1964]
1961-1964 [De-Facto] One Party State (TANU)
-Sultanate of Zanzibar [1963-1964]/People's Republic of Zanzibar & Pemba [1964]
1963-1964 Emerging Democracy
-United Republic of Tanzania [1964-Present]
1964-1965 [De-Facto] One Party State (TANU), Zanzibar (ASP)
1965-1992 One Party State (TANU/CCM), Zanzibar (ASP/CCM)
1992-1995 Multiparty Transition
1995-2010 Emerging Democracy
2010-        Democracy
2012 Freedom House Rating: Political Rights - 3, Civil Liberties - 3, Status: Partly Free
Next Scheduled Presidential Election: 2015
Next Scheduled National Assembly Election: 2015
Political Parties: ANC - African National Congress, APPT-Maendeleo - African Progressive Party of Tanzania-Maendeleo, ASP - Afro-Shirazi Party, CCM - Chama Cha Mapinduzi [Revolutionary State Party] (left-wing, authoritarian), CHADEMA - Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo [Party for Democracy and Progress] (conservative), CHAUSTA - Chama cha Haki na Usitawi, CUF - Civic United Front [Chama Cha Wananchi] (liberal), DP - Democratic Party, FORD - Forum for Restoration of Democracy, Jahazi Asilia*, MAKINI - Demokrasia Makini, NCCR-Mageuzi - National Convention for Construction and Reform-Mageuzi (centrist), NLD - National League for Democracy, NRA - National Reconstruction Alliance, PONA - Popular National Party, PPT-Maendeleo - Progressive Party of Tanzania-Maendeleo, SAU - Sauti ya Umma, TADEA - Tanzania Democratic Alliance, TANU - Tanganyika African National Union (left-wing, authoritarian), TLP - Tanzania Labour Party, UDP - United Democratic Party (liberal, center-left), UMD - Union for Multiparty Democracy, UPDP - United People’s Democratic Party.
*Party Acronym not available.
 
Election Results
 
 
Presidential
--Multiparty: 1962, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010
--Single Party: 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990
Legislative
--Multiparty: 1958, 1960, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010
--Single Party: 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990
 
 
September 1958/February 1959 Legislative Council Election

Registered Voters

Not Available

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

Not Available (N/A)

Party Number of Seats (30)*
Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) 28
Others 2
*An additional 34 seats were reserved for appointees.
 
30 August 1960 Legislative Council Election

Registered Voters

885,000 (approx,)

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

Not Available (N/A)

Invalid/Blank Votes

Not Available

Total Valid Votes

121,445

Party Number of Votes % of Votes Number of Seats (71)*
Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) 100,581 82.82% 70
African National Congress (ANC) 337 0.28% -
Independents 20,527 16.90% 1
*The single independent seat was won by a loyal TANU member who opposed the official candidate and immediately joined the TANU ranks after his victory.
 
1 November 1962 Presidential Election

Registered Voters

1,800,000 (approx.)

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

Not Available (N/A)

Invalid/Blank Votes

Not Available

Total Valid Votes

1,149,254

Candidate (Party) Number of Votes % of Votes
Julius Nyerere (TANU) 1,127,978 98.15%
Zuberi Mtemvu (ANC) 21,276 1.85%
 
Single Party Elections
Sole Legal Party: Tanganyika African National Union (TANU)/Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP), 1965-1977; Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), 1977-1992
30 September 1965 Presidential Election (Julius Nyerere re-elected unopposed) [Detailed Results]

Registered Voters

3,373,089

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

2,600,040 (77.1%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

   100,537

Total Valid Votes

2,499,503

"Yes" Votes

2,410,903 (96.46%)

"No" Votes

     88,600   (3.54%)

30 September 1965 National Assembly Election
30 October 1970 Presidential Election (Julius Nyerere re-elected unopposed) [Detailed Results]

Registered Voters

5,051,938

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

3,649,789 (72.2%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

     74,388

Total Valid Votes

3,575,401

"Yes" Votes

3,465,573 (96.93%)

"No" Votes

   109,828   (3.07%)

30 October 1970 National Assembly Election
26 October 1975 Presidential Election (Julius Nyerere re-elected unopposed)

Registered Voters

5,577,566

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

4,557,595 (81.7%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

     83,323

Total Valid Votes

4,474,272

"Yes" Votes

4,172,267 (93.25%)

"No" Votes

   302,005   (6.75%)

26 October 1975 National Assembly Election
26 October 1980 Presidential Election (Julius Nyerere re-elected unopposed)

Registered Voters

6,969,803

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

5,986,942 (85.9%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

   157,019

Total Valid Votes

5,829,923

"Yes" Votes

5,570,883 (95.56%)

"No" Votes

   259,040   (4.44%)

26 October 1980 National Assembly Election

Registered Voters

6,604,408

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

5,594,342 (84.7%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

   177,243

Total Valid Votes

5,417,099 (96.83%)

CCM

5,417,099 (100.00%)

27 October 1985 Presidential Election (Ali Hassan Mwinyi elected unopposed)

Registered Voters

6,910,555

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

5,181,999 (75.0%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

   188,259

Total Valid Votes

4,993,740

"Yes" Votes

4,778,114 (95.68%)

"No" Votes

   215,626   (4.32%)

27 October 1985 National Assembly Election
28 October 1990 Presidential Election (Ali Hassan Mwinyi re-elected unopposed)

Registered Voters

7,296,553

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

5,425,282 (74.4%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

   109,796

Total Valid Votes

5,315,486

"Yes" Votes

5,198,120 (97.79%)

"No" Votes

   117,366   (2.21%)

28 October 1990 National Assembly Election
 
29 October 1995 Presidential Election* [Results by Region]

Registered Voters

8,929,969

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

6,846,681 (76.7%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

   333,936

Total Valid Votes

6,512,745

Candidate (Party) Number of Votes % of Votes
Benjamin Mkapa (CCM) 4,026,422 61.82%
Augustine Mrema (NCCR-Mageuzi) 1,808,616 27.77%
Ibrahim Lipumba (CUF) 418,973 6.43%
John Cheyo (UDP) 258,734 3.97%
*In seven constituencies of Dar-es-Salaam, the results were nullified in seven constituencies due to irregularities. A new round of voting took place in these constituencies on 19 November 1995.
 
29 October 1995 National Assembly Election*

Registered Voters

Not Available

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

Not Available (N/A)

Invalid/Blank Votes

Not Available

Total Valid Votes

6,440,913

Party Number of Votes % of Votes Number of Seats 232 (269)***
Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) 3,814,206 59.22% 186 (214)
National Convention for Construction and Reform-Mageuzi
(NCCR-Mageuzi)		 1,406,343 21.83% 16 (19)
Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) 396,825 6.16% 3 (4)
Civic United Front (CUF) 323,432 5.02% 24 (28)
United Democratic Party (UDP) 213,547 3.32% 3 (4)
Tanzania Democratic Alliance (TADEA) 76,636 1.19% -
National Reconstruction Alliance (NRA) 60,707 0.94% -
Union for Multiparty Democracy (UMD) 41,257 0.64% -
Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) 27,963 0.43% -
National League for Democracy (NLD) 26,666 0.41% -
United People's Democratic Party (UPDP) 19,841 0.31% -
Popular National Party (PONA) 18,155 0.28% -
Progressive Party of Tanzania-Maendeleo (PPT-Maendeleo) 15,335 0.24% -
*In seven constituencies of Dar-es-Salaam, the results were nullified in seven constituencies due to irregularities. A new round of voting took place in these constituencies on 19 November 1995.
**Due to conflicting data regarding registered voters, total votes cast, voter turnout, and the number of invalid/blank votes, those figures were excluded from the table above. A comparison of the differing figures can be found here.
***232 members were directly elected; The figures in parentheses reflect the distribution of seats when both the directly and indirectly elected seats are combined [excluding the 5 Zanzibar delegates and Attorney-General].
 
29 October 2000 Presidential Election

Registered Voters

10,088,484

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

  8,517,598 (84.4%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

     345,314

Total Valid Votes

  8,172,284

Candidate (Party) Number of Votes % of Votes
Benjamin Mkapa (CCM) 5,863,201 71.74%
Ibrahim Lipumba (CUF) 1,329,077 16.26%
Augustine Mrema (TLP) 637,115 7.80%
John Cheyo (UDP) 342,891 4.20%
 
29 October 2000 National Assembly Election

Registered Voters

10,088,484

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

  7,442,798 (73.8%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

     343,162

Total Valid Votes

  7,099,636

Party Number of Votes % of Votes Number of Seats 231 (295)*
Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) 4,628,127 65.19% 202 (258)
Civic United Front (CUF) 890,044 12.54% 17 (22)
Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) 652,504 9.19% 4 (5)
United Democratic Party (UDP) 315,303 4.44% 3 (4)
Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) 300,567 4.23% 4 (5)
National Convention for Construction and Reform-Mageuzi
(NCCR-Mageuzi)		 256,591 3.61% 1 (1)
United People's Democratic Party (UPDP) 14,789 0.21% -
Popular National Party (PONA) 11,731 0.17% -
Tanzania People's Party (TPP) 10,206 0.14% -
Tanzania Democratic Alliance (TADEA) 9,647 0.14% -
Union for Multiparty Democracy (UMD) 7,550 0.11% -
National League for Democracy (NLD) 2,507 0.04% -
National Reconstruction Alliance (NRA) 70 0.00% -
*231 members were directly elected; The figures in parentheses reflect the distribution of seats when both the directly and indirectly elected seats are combined.
 
14 December 2005 Presidential Election [Results by Region]

Registered Voters

16,401,694

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

11,875,927 (72.4%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

     510,450

Total Valid Votes

11,365,477

Candidate (Party) Number of Votes % of Votes
Jakaya Kikwete (CCM) 9,123,952 80.28%
Ibrahim Lipumba (CUF) 1,327,125 11.68%
Freeman Mbowe (CHADEMA) 668,756 5.88%
Augustine Mrema (TLP) 84,901 0.75%
Sengondo Mvungi (NCCR-Mageuzi)* 55,819 0.49%
Christopher Mtikila (DP) 31,083 0.27%
Emmanuel Makaidi (NLD) 21,574 0.19%
Anna Senkoro (PPT-Maendeleo) 18,783 0.17%
Leonard Shayo (MAKINI) 17,070 0.15%
Paul Kyara (SAU) 16,414 0.14%
*Sengondo Mvungi was also supported by the Forum for Restoration of Democracy (FORD), National Reconstruction Alliance (NRA), Union for Multiparty Democracy (UMD), and United People’s Democratic Party (UPDP).
 
14 December 2005 National Assembly Election

Registered Voters

16,407,318

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

Not Available (N/A)

Invalid/Blank Votes

Not Available

Total Valid Votes

10,829,513

Party Number of Votes % of Votes Number of Seats 232 (323)*
Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) 7,579,897 69.99% 206 (275)
Civic United Front (CUF) 1,542,254 14.24% 19 (31)
Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) 888,133 8.20%   5 (11)
Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) 306,219 2.83% 1 (1)
National Convention for Construction and Reform-Mageuzi
(NCCR-Mageuzi)		 239,452 2.21% -
United Democratic Party (UDP) 155,887 1.44% 1 (1)
Chama cha Haki na Usitawi (CHAUSTA) 38,085 0.35% -
Jahazi Asilia 21,042 0.19% -
Progressive Party of Tanzania-Maendeleo (PPT-Maendeleo) 13,532 0.12% -
Democratic Party (DP) 11,876 0.11% -
Tanzania Democratic Alliance (TADEA) 6,845 0.06% -
Sauti ya Umma (SAU) 6,085 0.06% -
National League for Democracy (NLD) 6,054 0.06% -
United People's Democratic Party (UPDP) 5,456 0.05% -
National Reconstruction Alliance (NRA) 3,459 0.03% -
Demokrasia Makini (MAKINI) 2,102 0.02% -
Forum for Restoration of Democracy (FORD) 1,625 0.02% -
Union for Multiparty Democracy (UMD) 1,510 0.01% -
Vacant** - - - (4)
*232 members were directly elected; The figures in parentheses reflect the distribution of seats when both the directly and indirectly elected seats are combined.
**Only 6 of 10 seats reserved for presidential appointees have been filled.
 
31 October 2010 Presidential Election

Registered Voters

20,137,303

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

  8,626,283 (42.8%)

Invalid/Blank Votes

     227,889

Total Valid Votes

  8,398,394

Candidate (Party) Number of Votes % of Votes
Jakaya Kikwete (CCM) 5,276,827 62.83%
Willibrod Slaa (CHADEMA) 2,271,941 27.05%
Ibrahim Lipumba (CUF) 695,667 8.28%
Peter Kuza Mziray (APPT-Maendeleo) 96,933 1.15%
Hashim Rungwe (NCCR-Mageuzi) 26,388 0.31%
Muttamwega Bhatt Mgayhwa (TLP) 17,462 0.21%
Yahmi Nassoro Dovutwa (UPDP) 13,176 0.16%
 
31 October 2010 National Assembly Election

Registered Voters

Not Available

Total Votes (Voter Turnout)

Not Available (N/A)

Party

Number of Seats
239 (350)*

Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) 186 (259)
Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) 23 (48)
Civic United Front (CUF) 24 (36)
National Convention for Construction and Reform-Mageuzi (NCCR-Mageuzi) 4 (4)
United Democratic Party (UDP) 1 (1)
Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) 1 (1)
Other

- (1)

*239 members are directly elected; The figures in parentheses reflect the distribution of seats when both the directly and indirectly elected seats are combined. Seven additional members can be appointed by the President.