by Mukundi Mutasa – SANF 05 no 84
It is election time again as Tanzanians go to the polls to elect a new president and parliamentarians in the country’s 232 constituencies on 30 October 2005.
Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa’s second term will come to an end in November, and the search is on for his successor. President Mkapa is the third head of state to lead Tanzania after the late “father of the nation” Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, and Ali Hassan Mwinyi.
The outgoing president has called for free and fair elections in the East African country.
Speaking at the SADC Summit in August, President Mkapa said, “I hope that the forthcoming General Elections in my own country will add credence and respect to our regional commitment to good democratic governance. I will certainly do all in my power to ensure that they are truly free and fair, peaceful and credible.”
National elections in the United Republic of Tanzania (comprising the mainland and Zanzibar) will be the third in the region in 2005 where the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Elections will be tested, after Zimbabwe in March and Mauritius in June. South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique held their ballots in 2004.
The main political parties contesting the elections include Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), Civic United Front (CUF), Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendelo (CHADEMA), Tanzania Labour Party (TLP), National League for Democracy (NLD), and Democratic Party (DP).
The ruling party, CCM, is fielding as its presidential candidate, Jakaya Kikwete, who emerged from the youth wing of the party 10 years ago and is currently the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
His rivals include Ibrahim Lipumba of the CUF, who once served as economic advisor to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Freeman Mbowe of CHADEMA and Augustine Mrema of the TLP.
Kikwete has pledged to maintain Tanzania’s peace and stability and improve the nation on the economic front. His focus will be on increased agricultural production and employment creation for the youths.
The current leadership has reduced inflation from 27 percent to 4.5 percent as of early 2005, according to the CCM manifesto. The development strategies put in place will have to be maintained and strengthened.
The CCM candidate has also promised free education for AIDS orphans “to enable them to build strong foundation in life. They will miss their parents, not education,” he said, as reported by The Guardian.
Other parties are making promises to their supporters on more or less the same issues with focus also on raising the status of women in positions of power. The constitution stipulates that there be a sizeable number of seats reserved for women. Campaign issues include the indigenisation of natural resources and putting the country’s sports on the world map.
The elections have become the centre of attraction in the region and beyond, with a number of observer missions preparing to participate, including the SADC Elections Observer Mission, SADC Parliamentary Forum, and the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA).
The new parliament will have 324 legislators, of which 232 will be constituency representatives, 75 for women’s special seats, 10 nominees appointed by the Union president, and five from the Zanzibar House of Representatives. One seat is reserved for a representative of the disabled, and one seat for the Attorney-General.
As a sign of increased zeal by women to gain more seats in the nation’s national assembly and presidium, Anne Senkoro of the Progress Party of Tanzania is the only woman vying for the presidency.
There are also two other women who will take part in the race as running mates. They are Naila Jiddawi of the National Convention for Construction and Reform (NCCR) and Rukia Omar Kiota, a Zanzibari of the TLP.
The previous elections in Zanzibar were marred by both pre and post-poll violence, but there are high hopes that this year’s plebiscite will be violence free.
The incumbent Zanzibari president, Amani Abeid Karume, is seeking re-election on a CCM ticket. CUF will field Seif Shariff Hamad.
The elected leadership of the Union and in Zanzibar will be faced with a number of challenges, including further development of the tourism and mining industries, the fight against malaria, HIV and AIDS, gender inequality, poverty, and unemployment.
Malaria is believed to be Tanzania’s biggest killer and there is great need for education and environmental awareness in an effort to deal with the disease. Malaria affects mostly pregnant women and children under five years of age. (SARDC)
