Tanzania Centre for Democracy
DIPD has as of March 2012 entered into a partnership with Tanzania Centre for Democracy. The project seeks to support multiparty democracy in Tanzania through a strengthening of the multiparty dialogue processes, the ability of political parties to perform their democratic functions, and finally by an enhanced engagement between the political parties and civil society.
The specific project at was approved by the DIPD Board in March 2012 and will run until December 2013. The DIPD-TCD partnership is, however, seen as longer term.
Tanzania Centre for Democracy visiting DIPD April 2012. Photo: DIPD
About the Partnership
The overall goal of the TCD-DIPD partnership is to support multiparty democracy in Tanzania. The support from DIPD feeds into the TCD strategic plan for 2011-2016. In the period 2011-2015, TCD operates with three overall goals:
- Strengthening of the multiparty dialogue and platform
- Strengthening political parties to perform their democratic functions
- Enhanced engagement between the political parties and civil society
The following activities will be implemented along cross party lines:
Strengthening the Multiparty Dialogue and Platform
- Political parties participate in the constitution making process through engagement with the Constitutional Review Commission and the Constituent Assembly via oral presentations, written submissions and lobbying.
- Organize the multiparty dialogue platform at the district level following identification of the most suitable and sustainable model of inter-party dialogue without creating office structure at this level.
Strengthening political parties to perform their democratic functions
- Address political parties capacity building challenges for policy development and garner the support of top leadership of participating political parties after a scoping study identifying the challenges and recommended strategies for overcoming the challenges
- Address through skills training, coaching and mentoring the challenges faced by women in political parties as regards their very low numbers turning up for elective offices within political parties and parliamentary and local government councils seats
Enhanced engagement between the political parties and civil society
- Commemorate the International Day of Democracy and conduct workshops with civil society drawing on inspiration from Malawi.
Tanzania Centre for Democracy
The Tanzania Centre for Democracy (TCD) is a non-partisan, non-religious and non-profit organisation that seeks to be a leading centre for the promotion and consolidation of multiparty democracy and culture of constitutionalism in Tanzania. TCD was founded in 2005 by five Parliamentary parties, with the assistance and support of the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy (NIMD).
DIPD visit at Tanzania Centre for Democracy, February 2012. Photo: DIPD
It is a political parties membership organisation with two categories of members: Full Members are parliamentary parties which as result of 2010 elections currently these are Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA), Civic United Front (CUF), National Convention for Construction and Reform – Mageuzi (NCCR-M), Tanzania Labour Party (TLP), and United Democratic Front (UDF). It also has nine Associate Members, i.e. political parties without parliamentary representation but which have at least won a seat in a Village, Street or Hamlet during the previous election in 2009.
TCD has played an important role in establishing multiparty dialogue and assisting the political parties in addressing their challenges.
More Information
Contact Senior Adviser at DIPD Hanne Lund Madsen at hama@dipd.dk
