Tanzania electoral commission announces new constituencies, ahead of august polls
The changes were guided by key criteria, including the existing number of seats in the Tanzanian Parliament, provisions for women's special representation and that each constituency must lie entirely within a single local government area.
Tanzania's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has unveiled eight new constituencies ahead of the nation's general elections in August. This will bring the total number of constituencies in Tanzania to 272.
INEC has also announced the creation of five new wards, increasing their total number to 3,960.
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INEC Chairperson and Tanzania Court of Appeal Judge Jacobs Mwambegele said the decision was informed by a nationwide consultation meeting held between February 26 and March 2, 2025, during which the commission reviewed 34 submissions advocating for constituency divisions and the renaming of existing constituencies.
"After receiving the requests, the commission conducted visits and held meetings with stakeholders in several of the constituencies proposed for division or name changes to verify the accuracy of the information submitted," said Mwambegele.
The changes were guided by key criteria, including the existing number of seats in the Tanzanian Parliament, provisions for women's special representation and that each constituency must lie entirely within a single local government area.
Subsequently, INEC allowed the formation of eight new constituencies in Dar es Salaam, including the division of Ukonga to form Kivule and Mbagala to form Chamazi. In the Dodoma region, Dodoma Urban Constituency was separated to create Mtumba while in the Mbeya region, Mbeya Urban was broken up to create Uyole.
In the Simiyu Region, Bariadi was carved out to form Bariadi Urban.
In the Geita Region, Busanda was divided to set up Katoro, while Chato was split to introduce Chato South. In the Shinyanga Region, Solwa was also restructured to form Itwangi.
INEC renamed 12 existing constituencies, including Chato (Geita) to Chato North, Nkenge (Kagera) to Missenyi, Mpanda Rural (Katavi) to Tanganyika, Buyungu (Kigoma) to Kakongo, and Bariadi (Simiyu) to Bariadi Rural.
In Singida Region, five constituencies received new names: Manyoni East is now Manyoni, Singida North is Ilongero, Manyoni West becomes Itigi, Singida East is now Ikungi East, and Singida West is Ikungi West.
Other changes include Tabora North being renamed Uyui and Handeni Rural (Tanga) simplified to Handeni.
Five new wards have also been created by Tanzania's Minister for Regional Administration and Local Government, including Ngerenyani and Sinonik in Longido (Arusha Region), and Mupi, Bwawani Urban, and Shera in Rufiji (Coast Region).
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