Matojo Cosatta
JF-Expert Member
- Jul 28, 2017
- 234
- 390
IS PRIME MINISTER MAJALIWA A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT ELECTED FROM CONSTITUENCY?
The Prime Minister Designate (Waziri Mkuu Mteule) of United Republic of Tanzania, Right Honourable, Majaliwa Kassim Majaliwa was the only and one person who was nominated to vie the post of Member of Parliament for Ruangwa Constituency, he was one of unopposed candidate in the 2020 parliamentary election.
Once only one candidate is nominated for parliamentary election in a constituency indispensably no election is to be conducted in lieu thereof such unopposed candidate is deemed to be elected as Member of Parliament of the respective constituency by operation of law, so is Right Honourable, Majaliwa Kassim Majaliwa, the only person nominated in respect of Ruangwa Constituency.
This state of affairs has resulted into contentious legal conundrum as to whether he qualifies to be appointed to hold office of Prime Minister or not given the fact that Prime Minister must be a person "elected from constituency" as mandatorily required by provisions of Article 51 (2) of the Constitution of United Republic of Tanzania, 1977.
Some lawyers and politicians argue that Right Honourable, Majaliwa Kassim Majaliwa does not qualify to be appointed to hold office of Prime Minister simply because he was not elected by wananchi cum voters.
Appropriate provisions of law to resolve this constitutional and legal quagmire are provisions of Section 44 of the National Election Act, Cap. 343 read in tandem with Rule 2 of the Unopposed Parliamentary Candidates for the General Election of 2020 Notice, 2020 (G.N. No. 917 of 2020) and Item 5 of the Schedule appended thereto. The the short title of G.N. No. 917 of 2020 in Swahili Version is known as Tangazo la Kuchaguliwa kwa Wagombea Pekee wa Ubunge katika Uchaguzi Mkuu wa Mwaka 2020.
Section 44 of the National Election Act, Cap. 343 provides as quoted ad verbatim hereunder in extenso;
"44 Where only one candidate is nominated for an election in a constituency, such candidate shall be deemed to be elected and the Commission shall, by notice in the Gazette, declare that candidate to have been elected".
This means that unopposed candidate for Parliamentary Election is deemed to be elected on the day he is nominated to contest the post of Member of Parliament of respective Constituency and the declaration of his election must be made by the National Electoral Commission by publishing the Notice of election of unopposed candidate in the Government Gazette.
In an endeavour to comply with the provisions of Section 44 of the Act, the National Electoral Commission published notice in the Government Gazette No.42, Vol.101 dated 16th October, 2020 thereby declared that Majaliwa Kassim Majaliwa was duly elected to be Member of Parliament for Ruangwa Constituency alongside other 28 opposed candidates for Parliamentary Elections.
So, appointment of Majaliwa Kassim Majaliwa as Prime Minister is in line with Article 51 (2) of the Constitution of United Republic of Tanzania, 1977.
By Matojo M. Cosatta.