NEC must clear these doubts to build trust

BY EDITOR

17th October 2015.

Editorial cartoon

With only seven days remaining before Tanzanians go to the polls to elect their leaders, concerns have been raised by the largest opposition party, Chadema, with regard to the credibility of some of the registered would-be voters.

 

The anomalies, according to Chadema, were noted as they were going through the voter register handed over to them by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) for scrutiny as part of electoral body’s efforts  to build confidence among election stakeholders, including political parties.

 

According to the opposition party, some of the registered would-be voters registered in some places do not appear to be real or genuine voters. In other words, they are ghost voters.

Some of the registered ‘voters,’ according to Chadema, were warehouses, walls and black shadows, with some genuine voters being registered more than once.

 

Chadema went further to claim that some of the photographs of the registered voters appeared to have been taken by the owners’ mobile phone cameras, commonly known as ‘selfies’.

 

According to Chadema, the anomalies appeared on the list of voters for Polling Station Number 1010102 located in Mahoma village, Chahwa ward, in Dodoma Region.  Though this newspaper cannot independently verify these claims because it has not had the chance to access the voter register, NEC has the responsibility to work on these genuine and very disturbing concerns.

 

If the claims are indeed true one may simply ask: how come NEC could not notice them, given the fact that this very week it announced to have deregistered over 1million voters due to various reasons?

How possible could warehouses, walls and black shadows be registered as legitimate voters in the first place? Was it a technical or human error?

 

Given the fact that Chadema have noted these problems on a list of voters for just one polling station, what might be the findings if one goes through the whole voter register?

 

We have all along been emphasizing that an election is about confidence building. NEC has the duty to ensure that this year’s election is conducted in an environment where no side harbours complaints or doubts, especially political parties.

 

Of course, we understand that in a situation where each political party would like to defend its interests at all cost it may be difficult for NEC to satisfy each and every stakeholder. However, to avoid unnecessary conflicts between the electoral body and political parties it must address the glaring shortcomings immediately. 

 

NEC fully understands that this year’s general election is hot, in the sense that no one can predict the winner, especially for the post of president. This being the case, NEC should continue to do its best to address the complaints whenever raised.

 

This newspaper, of course, acknowledges the efforts which have so far been taken by NEC to make the election free, fair and transparent. However, we ask the electoral body to continue addressing such challenges until polling day. 

 

The electoral body should understand that the fate of the country lies in its hands. It is in its interest to keep its record clean because its integrity is at stake here.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN