 |
| William Lukuvi, Minister of State (Policy, Coordination and Parliamentary Affairs) |
They were debating the Referendum Bill, 2013 tabled by the Minister of State (Policy, Coordination and Parliamentary Affairs), William Lukuvi.
Chwaka MP, Yahaya Kassim Issa (CCM), called on National Electoral Commission (NEC) and Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) to ensure that they update the registers to allow more Tanzanians who have attained the age of 18 to take part in the referendum process.
He said there are many young men and women out there who are eligible to take part in the process.
“We also have responsibility of ensuring that laws are harmonised between Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar. In Zanzibar we have a law on residence that bars people from the Mainland to vote in the Isles,” he said, adding that in Zanzibar there are village leaders alias shehas who work for all people irrespective of political partisans.
But Chakechake MP, Musa Haji Kombo (CUF), opposed his colleague, putting the blame on shehas who he claimed were behind spoiled election processes in Zanzibar, saying they favoured CCM leaders.
“All Tanzanians have the right to take part in the referendum process, but in Zanzibar things are different. You are not allowed to participate in the electoral process as a contestant or a voter if you don’t have a Residence ID. This is totally different from what is going on in the Mainland.
Kombo called for the abolition of the Zanzibar voter register because of the shortcomings “as you cannot take part in the referendum if you don’t have the residence ID.” Special Seats MP, Amina Omar Juma, (CUF), also opposed the proposal of using mobile vehicles as polling stations.
“i don’t agree with the use of the vehicles as polling stations. This will confuse those who will be taking part in the referendum,” she said, stating: “We are going into a very important stage in our country’s history. Don’t ruin it…responsible authorities should facilitate this process.”
She said there are people who have no birth certificates, hence should be given a chance to take part in the process.
Mkoani MP, Ally Khamis Seif, (CUF), also called fo the update of the voter register so that more people take part in the important process.
Khatib Said Haji, (Konde, CUF), suggested the need for Tanzanians in the Diaspora to be given chance to take part in the referendum process.
Reading views of the opposition camp in the house, spokesperson of the camp, Tundu Lissu, proposed the need for the voters’ register to be updated. He also suggested the need for the removal of the Referendum Bill, 2013, until the house makes amendments in the current constitution to empower NEC with a mandate to spearhead the forthcoming referendum process.
He said: “The opposition camp in the National Assembly proposes that the bill be removed as per 90th parliamentary standing order of 2013, until changes are made in the constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania to give power to NEC to work in line with the mother law.”
He also expressed the need for the Referendum to be initiated by the people themselves, so that the forthcoming constitution is people-centered. “This will put our country among those that adhere to democracy.”
He further proposed the need for Zanzibar government to remove some hitches which bar people from being registered in the voters’ register.
“For a Zanzibari to be registered a voter, he/she must stay in the respective area for more than 36 months. To us this is a challenge that needs to be addressed,” he said.
“As many people lack vivid of evidence of anyone moving from one area to another, many Zanzibaris are denied registration.”
No comments:
Post a Comment