Referendum campaigns must be fair and square

BY EDITOR

6th November 2014

Editorial Cartoon

For decades, activists, politicians and the larger Tanzanian public  have had the dream of obtaining a new Constitution, one that would  address the shortcomings of the 1977 one that is in use up till  now.

 

The necessity of coming up with a brand new Constitution emanated  from the fact that the current one was adopted from the United  Kingdom after independence in 1961, hence basically based on the  Westminster Model, and has several weaknesses despite the  amendments it has undergone in between. Among the major shortcomings that remained intact despite the  amendments was the inclusion of Articles that contradicted  international standards particularly with regard to some basic  rights of minority groups on society. 

 

It is also argued that, under the current Constitution, the  President of the United Republic of Tanzania wields too many powers  and Zanzibar answers to the United Republic on too many issues and  occasions for comfort – particularly with regard to government  finances.

 

These are but just a few areas where many observers say the 1977  Constitution of Tanzania calls for massive improvement and which  goes to show that a truly new Constitution is not only a necessity  but also a matter of urgency.

 

This is why when elected for his second successive five-year term  in 2010, President Jakaya Kikwete promised to see to it that the  country got a new Constitution – preferred by Tanzanians – before  he left office (later next year).

 

But when the Constituent Assembly began deliberating on the second  draft Constitution in its meetings in Dodoma on February 18 this  year, it was hard to say the process would have thrown delegates  supporting the stance of the opposition and those rooting for the  opinions of the ruling party into deadlock.

 

Delegates from the opposition and now running under the umbrella of  what is popularly known as the Coalition of People’s Constitution  and often referred to by its Kiswahili acronym UKAWA, walked out of  the Assembly on April 16.

 

It was from then on that the Constitution review had divided  Tanzanians into two groups whose positions were worlds apart.

 

One group supports the stance of UKAWA members, while the other  backs the position of the ruling party and its presumed affiliates,  particularly on the content of the new proposed constitution.

Clearly bearing all this in mind, President Kikwete has just  announced 30 days of campaigning for or against the proposed  Constitution with effect from March 30 next year before a  referendum scheduled for April 30.

 

We call for a fair deal for all concerned during the campaign  period. In the name of democracy, which Tanzania has always  declared it relishes and cherishes, all parties to the all- important process should be guaranteed freedom to campaign either  for or against the proposed Constitution.

 

Put a little differently, we don’t want to witness a repeat of the  chaos and shame that characterised the recent symposium in Dar es  Salaam on the run-up to the Constitution referendum.

 

Democracy plays a premium on freedom of expression, assembly and  association. It cannot be about violence or chaos. All of us need  to bear this in mind.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN