The warning comes a day after the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bernard Membe urged good conduct while speaking to heads of mission and ambassadors from diplomatic missions accredited to Tanzania.
Chadema Deputy Secretary General John Mnyika told the press in Dar es Salaam that such threats aim at silencing foreign election observers from pointing out irregularities if they come across them.
Such conduct could arise from government agencies or by the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) during the process of ballot distribution as well as in casting and counting of votes.
“Observers should be courageous enough to do their jobs as required by the protocols governing the function. Let them not be afraid due to the statement by the Minister for Foreign Affairs because it was aimed to silence them in case they notice any wrongdoing by the government,” he said.
Mnyika said that there are rules that guide observers and they have limits in how they do their job, advising the government to leave them to do their job freely without issuing veiled threats.
He said what the government is demanding is that observers should not offer any information in the course of their work and in interacting with local stakeholders. “It is an attempt to minimize democratic precepts in the general election as well as curbing freedom of speech,” he pointed out.
The government wants to bind the mouths of observers in order to hide iniquities during the polls, he reiterated.
Mnyika said that the 1985 Elections Act allows observers and monitors to provide preliminary reports on election trends.
“The government knows that the law prohibits any political party to take issues to court in relation to election results for the Union and Zanzibar presidential polls after they are announced.
The reason is that they do not want observers to provide preliminary information on voter intentions as it could occasion protests if the final result is different, he said.
Chadema called upon observers and monitors to offer preliminary reports at each stage on the basis of law provisions and not wait to compile results only in their final report.
He asked the two local election monitors, namely the Tanzania Election Monitoring Committee (TEMCO) and civil societies election monitoring umbrella group (TASEU) to ensure that they post monitors to most election centers.
The top Chadema official urged government officials to not use their positions politicaly for the benefit of the ruling party.
He said President Jakaya Kikwete was using his official position to campagn for CCM, which he said was to confuse that position with his role as party chairman.
Prof Kitila Mkumbo (ACT-Wazalendo) told this paper that election obsevers and monitors are profesionals in their field, so there is no need to worry about them. They are suposed to work freely, the don underlined.
The important thing is to give them guidlines to work according to national ethics but not prohibiting them from offering information, he said.
He said previous election obsevers were free to provide information, therefore it is enough to remind them to operate within the set ethical framework.
Foreign Minister Membe on Thursday met with heads of mission and ambassadors accredited to Tanzania, cautioning them about releasing information to the media during their tour of work.
Observers will not be allowed to speak to the press during the election process until after National Electoral Commission (NEC) and Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) announce election results, the minister had insisted.
The government expects to play host to up to 600 monitors and observers for the general elections slated for October 25, the minister had indicated.
Election monitors are mainly drawn from the European Union (EU), the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway and a number of other countries.
“Both local and international observers will not be allowed to intervene in the polls process by any means. They should only be watchers and prepare their reports with analysis of the process during the election period,” he emphatically directed.
Such reports should also be submitted to the concerned authorities including the National Electoral Commission (NEC) after the completion of elections, he also demanded.
Talking about ongoing campaigns, the Chadema official said “the first priority in the UKAWA manifesto is people’s constitution where they will go back to the community and seek to uphold that was said by the people.”
Changes in this country would come out of having the people’s constitution which will transform the governance practice in the entire system, he declared.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
No comments :
Post a Comment