Political Geography: Tanzania / Journal: Central European University Political Science Journal

Author:: Alexander B. Makulilo
Publication Date:: 02-2015
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:: Central European University
Abstract:: In her article “Why the CCM won't lose”, Melanie O'Gorman claims to have found a puzzling dominance of the CCM in Tanzania. Using a survey conducted in 2008 amongst subsistence farmers, she notes that respondents tend to support the ruling party despite the rural neglect. This article questions the methodology and contests the key findings. It argues that the CCM's dominance is a function of the incomplete de - linking of the party from the state of the old authoritarian regime thereby suffocating political space not only for the opposition parties but also for the members of civil society in rural and urban areas. The electoral data from the 2005 and 2010 general elections indicate that the margin of votes across constitu encies for the CCM is in steady decline, thus challenging its dominance.
Topic:: Politics
Political Geography:: Tanzania

Author:: Alexander B. Makulilo
Publication Date:: 04-2012
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:: Central European University
Abstract:: The Independent candidate question in Tanzania has, since 1992, remained a subject of debate among political parties, judiciary, parliament, executive, the attorney general's chamber, academics, civil societies, and election observers. The issue of this debate is whether or not independent candidates should be introduced in the electoral system. The ruling party and its government have been agains the independent candidates on the ground that it would jeopardize the entire electoral system. The purpose of this article is twofold. First is to present my rejoinder to the issues raised by Frank Mateng'e's article "Protesting the Independent Candidacy in Tanzania's Elections: A Bona Fide Cause?" concerning one of my earlier works about the independent candidate issue in Tanzania. Second, I engage the contribution of Mateng'e to the independent candidate debates. This entails also interrogating his concept of "de facto independent candidacy".
Political Geography:: Tanzania

Author:: Victoria Makulilo
Publication Date:: 05-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:: Central European University
Abstract:: In 2004 the government of Tanzania introduced the Loans Board in order to manage funding for students in higher education. The main goal of this board is to identify poor and needy students so as to assist them in accessing higher education. This article examines the key instruments in providing loans to students, that is, the Higher Education Student's Loans Board Act No. 9 of 2004 and its related regulations and how they impact the access to education. Based on interviews, documents, and newspapers it is argued that the Loans Board has failed to meet its grand objective. Instead, it has turned to be a mechanism for limiting poor and needy students' access to higher education.
Political Geography:: United Nations and Tanzania

Author:: Alexander B. Makulilo
Publication Date:: 02-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:: Central European University
Abstract:: Independent candidates are not allowed in Tanzania. This restriction has raised debate which dominates multipartism and its efficacy in the country. Since the inception of multipartism in 1992, there have been three major cases on independent candidates. In the first two cases, the High Court ruled in favour of independent candidate. However, in the third case, the Court of Appeal, while subscribing to the need of independent candidates, it nullified the previous judgments by the High Court on the ground that the court had no jurisdiction in declaring a constitutional provision to be unconstitutional; and that the independent candidate issue being political and not legal should be resolved by the parliament. I argue that the Court of Appeal failed to exercise its mandate in administering justice. I further argue that such failure is attributed to the fear by the justices from the ruling party and its government.
Political Geography:: Tanzania

Author:: Alexander Boniface Makulilo
Publication Date:: 12-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Central European University Political Science Journal
Institution:: Central European University
Abstract:: Elections in Tanzania have resulted into the underrepresentation of women in the formal decision making organs particularly the parliament. To address this problem the government introduced women special seats as one of the ways to empower women to participate in making decisions that affect their concerns. The threshold level for such special seats was set at 15 percent in the 1995 elections, 20 percent in the 2000 elections and it was increased to 30 percent of all the parliamentary seats in the 2005 elections. This article argues that while there is a positive trend in terms of the numerical representation via an affirmative action system, the same is yet to be owned by women themselves. The affirmative action in Tanzania is strategically used to divide women and to further the interests of political parties, particularly the ruling party. Thus, women struggles for their inclusion in the formal decision making organs should simultaneously demand for the need to owning the affirmative action itself.
Political Geography:: Tanzania

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