Tanzanian demands for constitutional reform will grow

Subject

Tanzanian constitutional reform

Significance

Political, religious and civil society leaders are calling for constitutional reform before the 2020 elections. These demands are underpinned by rising fears for the future of Tanzania’s multi-party democracy, which add to existing concerns over the concentration of power in the executive branch.

Impacts

• A new constitution will be an opportunity to enshrine popular resource-nationalist principles behind recent natural resources legislation.
• The issue of Zanzibar's place in the union will come to the fore, creating an unstable environment for the 2020 elections there.
• The government will likely ease repression of dissenting voices in order to give a review process credibility.