Here Is A List of 12 Eminent Persons Closely Following The Tanzanian General Elections

Tanzanians will be going to the polls this month. They are set to elect the next government that will lead them for the next five years. The current President John Pombe Magufuli will be seeking a second term in office. His main challenger is the candidate by the CHADEMA party, Tundu Lissu.

Every election needs to be fair, credible, and open with the voice of the people exercising their democratic right through voting carrying the day. As Tanzanians go to the polls, the Tanzania Elections Watch has formed a panel of 12 eminent persons who are closely following the events in Tanzania towards a credible democratic process.

Here are the eminent persons:

Prof. Frederick Ssempebwa

This is the Chair of the panel. Professor Ssempebwa was a member of the Uganda Constitutional Commission (The Odoki Commission) which drafted the Uganda 1995 Constitution.

He was the Chairman of the Uganda Constitutional Review Commission which was charged with reviewing the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda and a member of the Committee of Experts which drafted the 2010 Constitution for the Republic of Kenya’.

In 2015, he led a team of experts from Uganda and Kenya that reviewed and made proposals on the draft Constitution of Tanzania and presented their findings to the Warioba Committee, under the auspices of Kituo cha Katiba.

He has served as a member of the Judicial Service Commission of Uganda entrusted with the selection of Judges for the Courts of Uganda and on the Law Council of the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

Ms. Alice Mogwe

This the Co-Chair of the panel. Ms. Alice Mogwe is the current President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) since her election in October 2019.

She is a staunch human rights advocate and civil society leader will lead the Federation for the next three years, ushering in its 100th anniversary in 2022.

She is also the founder and director of DITSHWANELO – the Botswana Centre for Human Rights. She has spearheaded efforts to advance human rights in Botswana and its Southern African neighbors. It advocates for changes in laws, policies, and practices, and to raise public awareness of rights and responsibilities.

In December 2018, Ms. Mogwe was the first civil society leader to address the United Nations General Assembly on behalf of over 250 human rights defenders from around the world.

Hon. Justice Willy Mutunga

Dr. Willy Munyoki Mutunga is a Kenyan lawyer, intellectual, reform activist, and the Commonwealth Special Envoy to the Maldives.

His appointment to the Commonwealth was to bring the political leadership together, and to aid in the process of constitutional and political transition, with an overriding mandate of supporting a sustainable political dialogue process leading to a stronger climate of pluralism and inclusive elections, and to encourage the strengthening of democratic institutions