Reseach on electoral systems and electoral commission

Roving Journalist · 2017-11-17T12:25:18+00:00

Introduction It is widely recognized that electoral system reform is key to reforming a political system. Consequently it becomes one of the important issues of constitutional choice. This was been commissioned by the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) to review various aspects pertaining to the Electoral Systems and the Electoral Commission in Tanzania. The purpose of this task is to provide a comprehensive reference document which the CRC can use as it makes decisions on the proposed Electoral Systems for Tanzania and the type of Election Management Body (EMB) which would prevail in the new Union Constitution. 1.1.1 Objectives of the study 1.1.2 General Objective The main objective of the study is to review judicial opinions, academic writings, various reports to the United Republic of Tanzania (URT) government and political debates on Tanzania’s electoral systems and EMBs so as to capture the political dynamics and the multiparty democratic imperatives of the institution of elections. 1.1.3 Specific Objectives To achieve the general objective a number of specific objectives were identified:- • To highlight the challenges facing the current electoral systems and election management. • To review different literature and opinions with regard to various aspects of the electoral systems and electoral management bodies. • To examine the electoral systems and election management bodies in other countries and propose the legal and institutional framework suitable for the United Republic of Tanzania. • Based on the review made to recommend on how to address the existing challenges with a view to improving electoral systems and procure independence of election management bodies in the United Republic of Tanzania. 1.2 Scope of the work The consultants were required to cover various aspects of Electoral Systems and EMBs. Specifically the following elements made up the scope of the work:- • Electoral systems and their suitability to the Tanzanian circumstances. • The selection, appointment and tenure of office of members of the Electoral Commission and Secretariat. • Structure and composition of the Electoral Commission • The mandate and functions of the Electoral Commission • Minimum and maximum age at which a person may legally qualify to stand for elective positions. • Any other pertinent issue regarding the electoral systems and elections. 1.3 Methodology The study involved a review of research reports, academic writings, papers, judicial decisions, reports by election observers, EMB reports, press releases, government reports, and dissertations relevant to the electoral system and the EMBs in Tanzania. Most of these were within the reach of consultants. Most of the work was the synthesis of the above to meet the requirements of the ToRs. Additional documents were sought and used to fill gaps which arose. A survey of selected case studies in Africa with regard to electoral systems and election management bodies was done so as to inform the Tanzania’s case. Moreover, a few stakeholders were consulted in order to fill in very specific information gaps. Various models and scenarios have been highlighted in this report and discussed in the process of coming up with a summary of best practices of electoral systems and EMBs. This required us to undertake a contextual analysis of the Tanzania’s socio-economic and political situation. With regard to the theoretical and conceptual frameworks for electoral systems and the election management bodies, this study wishes to acknowledge the overreliance on two handbooks. This is not to disregard other scholarly works though. The first one is the “Electoral System Design: The New International IDEA Handbook” of 2005. This book is instrumental as it presents the worldly electoral systems in comparative perspectives of Africa, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the United States of America. Unlike other rubrics on electoral systems which are country specific, this book revisits both the theoretical and empirical cases on electoral systems worldwide. It is important to appreciate that the IIDEA had the first version of this book in 1997 and it was called “the International IDEA Handbook on Electoral System Design”. The New International IDEA Handbook has been written by renowned experts on electoral systems. The second book is the “Electoral Management Bodies as Institutions of Governance” of 2000. This book presents a comparative study both theoretically and empirically on the electoral management bodies of the world. It is therefore a comprehensive guide with regard to the designing of the electoral management bodies. We need to capitalise that although these books provide the general knowledge of electoral systems and electoral management bodies, the contexts of specific countries dictate modifications and relevant applications. Find attachment

Thread starter Roving Journalist
Start date Nov 17, 2017

Roving Journalist

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Reseach on electoral systems and electoral commission

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