THE ruling by the Court of Appeal last week, that the issue of private candidates in elections can only be settled by Parliament, seems to have been the final nail on the coffin of prospective independent candidates as they are most likely to miss out on this year's general election.

The highest court in the land in a judgment read by Chief Justice Augustino Ramadhani, who was leading the bench, ruled that neither it nor the High Court has the power to declare that independent candidates be allowed to participate in future elections.

'The issue of independent candidates has to be settled by Parliament because it is a political matter, not a legal one. Each part should bear its cross,” ruled Justice Ramadhani.

What is important in the ruling, however, is the fact that the panel advised the Attorney General and the government to seriously ponder the comment from a committee of the United Nations which states that the right of persons to stand for election should not be limited unreasonably by requiring aspirants to be members of parties.

We need not be reminded that besides being a peaceful loving country, Tanzania is well known for her good record on human rights and particularly  for the right to self determination and involvement in the liberation struggle.

It remains unfortunate, however, that denying the chance for private candidates to contest in elections shuts doors for many aspirants, especially women who are battling to increase their representation in  decision making bodies such as parliament and cabinet.

Since the issue has been referred back to the parliament, it is vital that they deal with it as a matter of urgency so that those people, who don't have the political muscles, especially women, and who cannot push their way through party ranks and win primaries so that they can contest elections, have the chance to contest as independent candidates.

We, as a country, need to borrow a leaf from Malawi which saw a rise in female representation  through a 50/50 campaign launched by an NGO, that supported both morally and financially, all women irrespective of their political party affiliations. Though we have organisations in this country, that have been campaigning, urging women to contest elections, this is not enough as most of them not only lack confidence and technical knowhow but they are financially crippled to spearhead campaigns.

This help is vital as it will go a long way in increasing the number of women participants and in the end will lead to a rise in women representation in parliament, something that is in line with the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development that commits countries to work towards the goal of having 50 percent women in political and decision-making positions by 2015.

Wananchi also have a greater role to play as they constitute the electorate. It is an open secret that the bulky of the voters in this country are women and they should play an important role in making sure that the number of women elected into power increases.

If we join hands as a nation, with everyone playing his or her part, then we will definitely achieve the 50/50 goal or even surpass it.