Process to allocate, rename electoral constituencies kick off
MOROGORO: THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the commencement of the process to examine, allocate or rename electoral constituencies with proposals being accepted from today until March 26, 2025.
The announcement was made by INEC Chairman, Judge Jacobs Mwambegele, immediately after leading a commission meeting in Morogoro Region yesterday.
“In accordance with Regulation 18(1) of the Independent National Electoral Commission Regulations of 2024, I would like to inform the public that starting tomorrow, (today), the Independent National Electoral Commission will begin the process of examining and allocating or changing the names of electoral constituencies,” said Judge Mwambegele.
He outlined the timeframe for submitting applications, insisting that all requests for the allocation or renaming of constituencies should be submitted to the commission within 30 days, from today until March 26th this year.
Judge Mwambegele said that this task is being undertaken in accordance with Article 74(6)(c) of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania (1977) and Section 10(1)(d) of the Independent National Electoral Commission Act No. 2 of 2024.
These provisions mandate the commission to examine boundaries and allocate constituencies for parliamentary elections within the United Republic.
He further elaborated that according to Article 75(4) of the Constitution, the commission is required to examine boundaries and allocate constituencies periodically, at least once every ten years.
“Taking into account these constitutional provisions, the last time the commission examined boundaries and allocated electoral constituencies was in 2015, when 26 new constituencies were established,” he said.
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The Chairman also reminded stakeholders with proposals to ensure that these suggestions are discussed in their District Advisory Committees before being submitted to the Regional Administrative Secretary for discussion at the Regional Advisory Committee level.
The Regional Administrative Secretary should then submit the approved proposals, along with all relevant attachments, to the Commission.
Regarding the criteria for the process, Judge Mwambegele stated that it would include factors such as population density.
Urban constituencies should have an average population of 600,000 people, while rural constituencies should have an average population of 400,000.
The population data to be used will be based on the results of the 2022 Population and Housing Census, provided by the National Bureau of Statistics. Other criteria include the economic status of the constituency, the size of the area, administrative boundaries and ensuring that no constituency falls within two districts or councils.
The layout of residential areas, the capacity of the parliamentary hall, the number of special seats for women MPs, the availability of communication routes and the geographical features of the area will also be considered.
Furthermore, Judge Mwambegele urged councils intending to rename their constituencies to follow the same procedures used for submitting applications for constituency allocation.
