This view is founded on the fact that such challenges have not been experienced in the ‘countries of origin’ of this culture. Many different challenges have been experienced in many different Non-Western countries following the introduction (or re-introduction) of the multi-party political system at the beginning of 1990.
In this article I am discussing the view that the absence of the requisite multi-party political culture in the relevant countries has been the primary challenge and further that apart from other challenges which have faced these countries, such as violence resulting from some parties refusing to recognize the relevant election results the phenomenon of defections from the ruling party to the opposition parties, and vice versa, is but one other manifestation of this primary challenge.
Tanzania is one good example which readily confirms this contention, but there are many other similar examples around the world, as shown below. Some worldwide examples.
In my book titled Reflections on the First Decade of Multi-party politics in Tanzania (First published in 2006) I cited the examples of a selection of such countries which have faced a variety of problems caused by the absence of this essential requirement, namely, the lack of the requisite multi-party political culture, as follows:-
(i) The Caribbean countries, whose problems were described in October 2000 by the Prime Minister of Grenada Dr. Keith Mitchell, as follows:- “The Caribbean people have long had a reputation for passionate partisan debate in the adversarial form of parliamentary democracy inherited from Westminster.
But they also enjoyed the reputation for playing by the rules : the winners of the arguments (in the elections) took office, and the losers continued the debate from the opposition benches in Parliament, and prepared for the next election.
But today, passionate political debates are being continued in an alarming number of instances not in Parliament but in the streets. And they are being pressed not by debate but by demonstrations. Our acceptance of the parliamentary system is being seriously eroded.
(ii) Papua New Guinea where the problem was reported as follows: “ Party politics in Papua New Guinea have generally been based on personalities rather than policies. In a “big man” style of politics votes are more likely to be won by family or clan affiliation, than through well-developed party policies”.
(iii) Kenya where it was reported as follows: “The introduction of political pluralism was one of the greatest political developments in Kenya since independence. But it now appears that political parties have turned into a liability not only stifling democracy but also impeding the transformation of Kenya into a modern society.
Virtually all political parties have sacrificed healthy political competition and internal democracy at the alter of individual aggrandizement”.
(iv) In the British tradition of ‘government by political party’ which we inherited from Westminster political parties are the instruments which provide stability and cohesion in Parliament, because party loyalty unites the members of the ruling party in solid support of their government and similarly unites members of the opposition parties in carrying out their constitutional functions inside Parliament.
But this has not always been the case in countries where the requisite political culture does not exist. One such example is Haiti, where it was reported as follows:- “
Party politics and party discipline are practically unknown in Haiti. Political parties in that country are often small bands of people led by egomaniacs, and held together by patronage. Inside Parliament, party affiliation does not always guarantee agreement”. The problems experienced in Tanzania.
The above is just a brief survey of the problems experienced in other countries around the world, as a result of the absence of the requisite multi-party political culture.
Tanzania has been experiencing similar problems, for precisely the same reason namely the absence of the requisite multi-party political culture. For example, ‘crying foul’ and refusing to recognize the results of an election has become a fairly common strategy for the losers in our elections.
The usual allegations made by the losers in such cases have been either that the elections were not free and fair because of certain alleged irregularities, or that the losers were in fact the winners but that their victory was unlawfully hijacked (ushindi wao uliporwa)!
Those who ‘cry foul’ then proceed to engage themselves in acts such as boycotts, street demonstrations, or some other unlawful acts including acts of violence which have sometimes lead to breaches of the peace. This has happened repeatedly in Zanzibar after each of their general elections since 1957 with the welcome exception of the 2010 elections which happily produced a government of national unity.
However in the appropriate environment where multi-party political culture is actually present, the losers would have resorted to seeking legal remedies which are readily available in such situations. They would have moved to the courts to seek nullification of the disputed elections, on the alleged ground they were not free and fair. As Mr. Justice Barnabas Samatta said in one of his judgments: “
The doors to the temple of justice are always wide open and welcoming to anyone who is aggrieved by a contravention of the law”. Fortunately Judge Samatta’s open invitation was actually taken up by the combined opposition parties which lost in the first multi-party general elections of 1995, when they jointly filed an election petition at the Tanzania High Court in Miscellaneous Civil case no. 59 of 1995, wherein they sought the nullification of that entire election.
They eventually lost the case, but the action itself of petitioning the High Court gave enhanced credence to the notion that the concept of the ‘rule of law’ was in fact functioning properly in Tanzania. Putting the recent defections in their proper context. I have stated above that the recent defections from the ruling party to the opposition parties, and vice versa, is one clear manifestation of the challenge which is created by the absence of the requisite multi-party political culture.
It may be helpful to point out that such defections are not new as they have actually been taking place all the time starting with the first multi-party general elections of 1995 and they have been taking place not only here in Tanzania, but also in almost all the other countries which do not have the requisite multi-party culture.
This is what explains why these countries have taken legal measures to prevent members of Parliament from ‘crossing the floor’ i.e. defecting to other political parties by enacting legislation which provides for automatic loss of his parliamentary seat for anyone who dares to do so.
Defections in pursuit of purely personal self interests In the ‘countries of origin’ of the multi-party political culture, such defections are considered unethical, which makes them a very rare occurrence. Over there, the particular motive which moves a person to join a political party is certainly not the pursuit of some personal benefit.
But ‘crossing the floor’ is not controlled by legislation but by the ethics of the persons concerned. There is evidence to show that Mwalimu Nyerere was fully converted to that particular culture. This evidence is available in his 1962 book titled Tujisahihishe, wherein among other things he said the following:-
“If our members, particularly those who are holding leadership positions fail to judge the usefulness of our party on the basis of its performance in rendering services to the community, and instead decide to judge its usefulness on the basis of its failure to satisfy their personal desires and ambitions, . . . such members are a dangerous disease in our party”.
This is the proper perspective in which the recent defections of certain former national leaders from the ruling party should be viewed, namely that they have chosen to make totally unethical moves motivated by equally unethical pursuits of purely personal self interests, of seeking leadership positions which they have failed to achieve within the ruling party.
In the words of Mwalimu Nyerere, they have failed to judge the usefulness of their party CCM on the basis of its performance in rendering services to the community, and have instead judged it on the basis of its failure to satisfy their purely personal desires and ambitions.
These are the challenges of operating the multi-party political system in the absence of the requisite multi-party political culture. We need to cultivate this culture.
However, there is no dispute whatsoever, that our members who defected to the opposition parties did so in exercise of their constitutional right to join a political party of their choice, as well as their personal freedom to do so.
/Daily News.
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