Tanzania could soon settle for minimal changes to the Constitution to even the playing field for the 2015 General Election after it emerged that a proposal by the opposition to revise electoral laws has the quiet backing of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM).

The EastAfrican has learnt that, while CCM agrees with the proposal by the opposition’s umbrella grouping Umoja wa Katiba ya Wananchi (Ukawa), the ruling party will not withdraw its members from the ongoing Constituent Assembly or publicly declare its stance. Instead, CCM will wait until the Assembly hits a snag or runs its course.

This could only be a matter of time since the opposition’s boycott of the Assembly — which resumed sitting on August 5 — has left it without the requisite quorum to vote.

According to Section 26 (1) of the Constitution Review Act, decisions of the Assembly can only be legally binding if they are endorsed by at least two-thirds of members from Mainland Tanzania and two-thirds of those from Zanzibar.

This means, without the Ukawa members, the Assembly would fail to garner the required two-thirds majority when it delegates vote on the draft chapters in October.

The opposition tabled its proposal in a closed-door meeting under the auspices of the Tanzania Centre for Democracy a day after the mediation efforts by the Registrar of Political Parties Francis Mutungi, failed on August 1.

READ: CCM extends olive branch to opposition as law review stalls

Ukawa wants the Constitution review halted to allow for electoral reforms, including the establishment of an independent electoral commission, and allowing independent candidates, to allow for free and fair elections.

A CCM member told The EastAfrican that making minimal changes to the Constitution was a viable proposal considering that it would be difficult to come up with a new constitution before the General Election in October 2015.

“We want to exhaust the CA process but we will opt for the idea as a fallback position at whatever level the CA fails. But for now we remain noncommittal on the proposal made by Ukawa at the meeting. It is a viable proposal, which will be eventually taken up by CCM and it will only be adopted at whatever point the CA is concluded,” the CCM member said.

However, another member thought the proposal could provoke Zanzibar to demand that oil and gas be removed from the Union to allow Zanzibar to sign its own exploration deals with multinational companies, in addition to the electoral reforms.

“Timing is key to the announcement because we do not want any party to feel that they have lost anything,” the CCM source said.

Judge (rtd) Joseph Warioba, who chaired the disbanded Constitutional Review Commission, however disagreed with the suggestion to amend the Constitution, saying issues related to the Union should be addressed before the 2015 General Election.

“I heard they talked about an independent electoral commission, independent candidate, equal representation between men and women; isn’t it a must that the entire constitution be implemented as a whole? The transitional provisions could set a roadmap on how the constitution articles should be implemented,” said Justice Warioba.

Meanwhile, the Tanganyika Law Society is already questioning the legitimacy of the Constituent Assembly in the absence of some members.

The Society’s president, Charles Rwechungura, said the lawyers would seek the constitutional court’s interpretation of the Constitution Review Act.

The TLS constitution review committee met yesterday to deliberate on the legal technicalities before filing the court petition, but secretary Stephen Msechu was non committal on which section the society would file its petition.

“What I can say is that we are going to court next week after concerted pressure from our members who are bombarding us with text messages demanding we rescue the process,” he said.

Additional reporting by Rosemary Mirondo and Christopher Kidanka