United Republic of Tanzania

National Assembly

Political system: Presidential system
Structure of parliament: Unicameral
IPU membership: Yes

Election results

Data on parliamentary elections, including the background, candidates, voter turnout, results and the formation of the new legislature. By default the latest election results are displayed. Select a date to view results from previous elections.

Results

About the election: The Revolutionary Party of Tanzania (CCM, effectively in power since Tanzania's independence from Britain in 1961) retained its parliamentary majority, but saw its share of seats reduced. It took 189 of the 264 directly elected seats (71%, see note 1), down from 186 of the 239 seats (78%) in the 2010 elections. The opposition Coalition of the People's Constitution (Ukawa, see note 2) took 34 seats, up from 23. Elections in Zanzibar archipelago were annulled for not being free and fair, after physical fights involving rival electoral commissioners.

In the presidential elections, the Works Minister John Magufuli (CCM) defeated former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa, who was endorsed by Ukawa. Mr. Lowassa left the CMM to join the main opposition party, Chadema, after failing to win the CCM primary for the presidential candidate in July 2015. He rejected the election results. Mr. Magufuli is due to succeed President Jakaya Kikwete (CCM), who was constitutionally barred from seeking a third term in December. Ms. Samia Hassan Suluhu will become the first woman Vice-President of the country.

During the election campaign, the major parties focused on education and health, promising free education and health insurance for all. The 2015 elections followed the postponement of a constitutional referendum, scheduled for 30 April. Ukawa, which had called in vain for reduced presidential powers and a federal system with a three-government structure (consisting of mainland Tanzania, the semi-autonomous Zanzibar archipelago and a union of the two), called for a boycott of the constitutional referendum. It was postponed indefinitely due to delays in the registration of voters.

Note 1:

In addition, there are 113 seats reserved for women (attributed to political parties in proportion to their share of the electoral vote), five members from Zanzibar (two of whom must be women), 10 members appointed by the President (five of whom must be women) and the Attorney General. The Speaker may be designated from outside Parliament and becomes a member of parliament by virtue of holding the office of Speaker.

Note 2:

Ukawa (Umoja wa Katiba ya Wananchi) comprises Chadema (Party for Democracy and Development, led by Mr. Freeman Mbowe), the Civic United Front (CUF, led by Mr. Ibrahim Lipumba), NCCR-Mageuzi (led by Mr. James Mbatia) and the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Mr. Emmanuel Makaidi. The coalition was formed following the opposition's rejection of the constitution-making process in 2014.
Number of parties winning seats: 5
Percentage of seats won by largest party or coalition: 67.1%
Alternation of power after elections: No

Parties or coalitions winning seats

Parties or coalitions winning seats
Political group	Total	Directly elected	Women seats
Revolutionary Party of Tanzania (CCM)	253	189	64
Chadema (Party for Democracy and Development)	70	34	36
Civic United Front (CUF)	42	32	10
ACT Wazalendo	1	1	0
NCCR-Mageuzi	1	1	0

Members elected, by sex

Number of men elected: 236
Number of women elected: 136

Notes:
The distribution of seats according to sex above refers to the composition of Parliament as at 18 December 2015. There were a total of 372 members (with 21 vacancies), 136 of whom were women as follows:

- 25 elected from constituencies;

- 110 elected by political parties in proportion to their share of the electoral vote;

- 1 appointed by the President (the Deputy Speaker).

The vacancies, except for one directly elected seat, were subsequently filled and the number of women increased to 145 out of 392 members by September 2017 as follows:

- 25 elected from constituencies;

- 113 elected by political parties in proportion to their share of the electoral vote;

- 2 out of 5 members from Zanzibar appointed by the President;

- 5 out of 10 members appointed by the President (including the Deputy Speaker).

Two directly elected seats held by male members subsequently fell vacant. As at 24 November 2017, there were 145 women out of 390 members.
Percentage of women elected: 36.6%
Women Directly Elected: 25
Women Appointed: 1
Women Indirectly Elected: 110
Other notes on the elections: Note on the distribution of seats according to political group:

The distribution of seats according to political group above refers to the composition of Parliament as at 18 December 2015. There were seven vacancies among the 264 directly elected seats and three vacancies among the 113 special seats for women.

The vacancies, except for one directly elected seat, were subsequently filled, bringing the total number of members to 392. The distribution of seats as at January 2017 for 391 seats (excluding the Attorney General who does not belong to a political party) was as follows:

- Revolutionary Party of Tanzania (CCM): 277

- Chadema (Party for Democracy and Development): 71

- Civic United Front (CUF): 41

- ACT Wazalendo: 1

- NCCR-Mageuzi: 1
Sources: Parliament (18.12.2015, 01.01.2017, 22.11.2017; 24.11.2017)

National Electoral Commission

International Foundation for Electoral Systems

BBC

The Citizen

New legislature

Total number of men after the election: 236
Total number of women after the election: 136
Percentage of women after the election: 36.6%
First-term parliamentarians: No information available
Percentage of first-term parliamentarians: No information available
Date of the first session: 17 Nov 2015

First Speaker of the new legislature

Personal details for the first Speaker of the new legislature: Job Ndugai (Male)
Political party: Revolutionary Party of Tanzania (CCM)
Date of election: 17 Nov 2015

United Republic of Tanzania

National Assembly

Election results

Background

Candidates

Voter turnout

Results

Parties or coalitions winning seats

Members elected, by sex

New legislature

First Speaker of the new legislature

Historical data for IPU membership