Caroline Nalule and Anna Nambooze 5. The Draft Constitution and Proposed Reforms Tanzania has formally been on course to draft a new constitution since the enactment of the Constitutional Review Act in November 2011. The Constitutional Review Commission carried out public consultations in two phases, following which it submitted the Draft Constitution in December 2013. Although the most contentious provisions seem to be those on the proposed three-tier government system in which Mainland Tanzania will have a separate government from that of Zanzibar, both operating under an overarching government of the United Republic, there are also some new proposals regarding Tanzanian citizenship. i. Every citizen’s right to have his or her citizenship recognised by being issued with the relevant documents, such as birth certificates, national identification cards, or travel documents160. ii. The Constitution proposes two types of citizenship acquisition: by birth and by registration. Citizenship by birth, will unambiguously be descent-based, that is, acquired where one is born whether in or outside Tanzania to parents either of whom is or both are citizens of Tanzania161. Death of one’s parent (who is a citizen) does not affect the recognition of one as a citizen by birth even if the parent’s death occurred before that person’s birth162. iii. Citizenship by registration: The word ‘registration’ would be reintroduced in place of the current ‘naturalisation’. Any person who has resided in Mainland Tanzania or Zanzibar for a period prescribed by law and having fulfilled all conditions thereunder, may apply for citizenship by registration163. With regards to marriage, the draft proposes, without further elaboration, that a person who marries a citizen of Tanzania may apply to be registered as a citizen. Furthermore, if the marriage terminates, the spouse that acquired citizenship by registration should be able to retain that citizenship164. The article on acquisition of citizenship through marriage is progressive in the sense that it does away with the current gender discrimination whereby only women married to Tanzanian men may apply for citizenship by naturalisation. iv. Citizenship acquisition for children: The draft proposes the presumption of citizenship for any child found is Tanzania, who is below seven years and is without parents165. Some of the proposals, most notably, the right to citizenship documentation, the removal of gender discrimination and the presumption of citizenship for foundlings, are undoubtedly commendable, yet the proposed draft leaves some rather gaping gaps and concerns. Regarding citizenship by registration, it is not clear whether residence alone is the key deciding factor, and if it is, what is the minimum duration required? Would long-term 160 The Proposed Draft Constitution of Tanzania, draft article 37, available at http://constitutionnet.org/sites/default/files/tanzania_draft_constitution_2013-english.pdf accessed on 8 December 2019. 161 Ibid, draft article 55 (1-2). Unfortunately, the draft constitution neither clarifies nor attempts to resolve the status of those persons who are by law recognised as citizens by birth but have in practice not been so recognised. There is a high possibility that they will be rendered stateless if their plight wrought by the incongruence between law and administrative practice is not addressed. 162 Ibid, draft article 55 (3). 163 Ibid, draft article 56 (1). 164 Ibid, draft article 56 (2-3). 165 Ibid, draft article 55 (4). RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/6 - © 2020 Author(s) 23