REPORT OF THE JUDICIARY OF TANZANIA ON HANDLING OF ELECTORAL DISPUTES AND THE DIGEST OF PETITIONS ARISING FROM THE 2015 ELECTION PETITIONS REPORT OF THE JUDICIARY OF TANZANIA ON HANDLING OF ELECTORAL DISPUTES AND THE DIGEST OF PETITIONS ARISING FROM THE 2015 ELECTION PETITIONS PREPARED BY THE JUDICIARY TANZANIA WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP) NOVEMBER, 2016 i TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD ............................................................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ......................................................................................................................... vi PART ONE .................................................................................................................................................. 1 ELECTION RELATED LESSONS AND ADVICE FROM OBSERVERS’ MISSIONS AND GROUPS .................................................................................................................................................. 1 1.0: Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1: Observation of new biometric voter registration system: Tanzania Election Monitoring Committee (TEMCO) .................................................................................................... 1 1.2: Lessons from the National Electoral Commission of Tanzania (NEC) Report .................. 2 1.3: Lessons from the European Union Election Observation Report ........................................ 3 1.4: Commonwealth Observation Report ....................................................................................... 5 PART TWO .................................................................................................................................................. 7 THE ROLE OF THE COURT IN PRE-ELECTIONS CIVIL AND CRIMINAL TRIALS ............... 7 2.0: Overview ...................................................................................................................................... 7 2.1: CIVIL TRIAL ................................................................................................................................ 7 2.2: CRIMINAL TRIAL .................................................................................................................... 11 PART THREE ............................................................................................................................................ 15 ELECTION PETITIONS ...................................................................................................................... 15 3.0: Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 15 3.1: Parliamentary Election Petitions ............................................................................................. 15 3.2: Councilor Election Petitions .................................................................................................... 26 PART FOUR .............................................................................................................................................. 56 ANALYSIS AND LESSONS FROM THE GROUNDS OF ELECTION PETITIONS .................. 56 4.0: Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 56 4.1: IN THE RESIDENT MAGISTRATE COURTS ...................................................................... 56 4.2: IN THE HIGH COURT ............................................................................................................. 60 4.3. General Legal Principles guiding the determination of Election Petitions ....................... 61 PART FIVE ................................................................................................................................................ 63 MATTERS AND JURISPRUDENCE THAT AROSE DURING HEARING OF ELECTION PETITIONS ............................................................................................................................................ 63 5.0: Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 63 5.1: Matters that arose from Nyamagana Constituency petition .............................................. 63 5.2. Procedure of issuing the notice and application for discovery and inspection of documents ......................................................................................................................................... 63 5.3: Witnesses’ Affidavits, their logistical challenges .................................................................. 64 5.4: Security for costs ........................................................................................................................ 65 5.6: Proper citation of enabling provisions of the law ................................................................ 70 5:7: Standard of proof in election petitions ................................................................................... 71 ii 5.8: Election Petition Court and Extension of time to file petitions .......................................... 73 5.9: Counting from date of declaration of election results, Limitation Period ........................ 74 5.10: Principles Guiding Election Petition Court ........................................................................ 74 5.11: Duty to assemble evidence before filing election petitions, a piece of advice .............. 74 5.12: Incitement of acts of violence ................................................................................................ 75 5.13: Corrupt practices by the agent during election campaigns .............................................. 75 5.14: Voters of below the age of majority ...................................................................................... 76 5.15: Existence of fake polling stations .......................................................................................... 76 5.16: Parties to a Petition Bound by their Pleadings .................................................................... 77 5.17: Recording votes at polling stations, data management system ....................................... 77 5.18: Mandate of the returning officer at the tallying stage ....................................................... 77 5.19: Removal of one polling station from list of polling stations ............................................. 78 5.20: Remedy of Scrutiny of Votes ................................................................................................. 78 5.21: Recounting of votes, procedure and stages ......................................................................... 79 5.22: Essence of the Election Results Form Number 21B ............................................................ 79 5.23: Petitioner fails to appear at the date set for hearing .......................................................... 80 5.24: Right to Vote as a Constitutional Right ................................................................................ 80 5.25: The Mandate of the High Court in Election Petitions ........................................................ 81 5.26: Refusal to allow the Polling Agents inside a Polling Room .............................................. 81 5.27: Belated Display of Election Results as a ground of petition ............................................. 81 5.28: Coordinated Campaign Programme .................................................................................... 82 5.29: Qualification to contest parliamentary election, criminal record ..................................... 83 5.30: Video recording an incident via a mobile phone ................................................................ 83 PART SIX ................................................................................................................................................... 86 THE COURT OF APPEAL INTERVENTION .................................................................................. 86 6.0: Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 86 6.1: Locus Standi, Right of registered voters to petition ............................................................. 86 6.2: Basic right to vote and to be voted into office ....................................................................... 87 6.3: Revision to the Court of Appeal over Rejection of documents .......................................... 87 6.4: Whether a decision of Election Petition Court is interlocutory .......................................... 88 6.5: Striking out an election petition, whether interlocutory ..................................................... 88 6.6: Role of Courts When Hearing Election Petitions ................................................................. 88 6.7: Introduction of Affidavit of Witnesses in Election Petitions .............................................. 89 6.8: Witness Affidavits tainted with material irregularity ......................................................... 89 6.9: Necessary Parties to be impleaded in the Court of Appeal, the Attorney General and the Returning Officer ......................................................................................................................