CUF says Hamad will form Isles unity govt

CUF says Hamad will form Isles unity govt
By Staff writer
16th August 2009EmailPrintComments
Seif Sharrif Hamad
The Civic United Front (CUF) claimed yesterday that although its presidential candidate in Zanzibar’s past elections always won but declared the loser, he is now determined to form a government of national unity to heal political wounds that have haunted the isles in the past.

In a strongly worded statement, the party said: “We are telling CCM to prepare to work under President Seif Sharrif Hamad of Zanzibar.”

The statement, issued by the head of foreign affairs and international cooperation department of CUF Jussa Ismail, made the remarks in direct reference to findings by an independent Synovate organization that ranked Hamad as the choice for the islanders in the forthcoming elections.

Since the introduction of multi-party politics in 1992, CUF Secretary General Seif has contested the presidency in the first multi-party elections in 1995, and the subsequent ones in 2000 and 2005.

CCM and its youth wing snubbed the findings, provoking CUF to invite the United Nations to supervise the 2010 general elections, although the Zanzibar government maintains that it is capable of conducting them.

The Minister of State in the Chief Minister’s Office, Hamza Hassan Juma, told journalists here yesterday that the Constitution and the Laws will be central to the elections, in a bid to allay any fears of foul play in the exercise.

But Jussa said: “We also dispel any fears that the government under Seif Sharrif Hamad will not look to past events, but focus on the main task of uniting Zanzibaris to bring about their long missed development under CCM.”

Meanwhile, CUF has sided with members of the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan and Norway advising the Union and Zanzibar governments to ensure voter registration is done fairly for all eligible voters in the volatile islands, especially in Pemba where reports claim people were being denied their democratic rights.

The stance by the traditional donor countries was drew immediate reaction from the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Seif Iddi, the Minister of State in the Chief Minister’s Office, Hamza Hassan Juma and the Chairperson of the CCM youth wing, Hamad Masauni, that foreign interference in Tanzania’s democracy won’t be tolerated.

According to Jussa, the head of foreign affairs and international cooperation desk of CUF, CCM has lost any credibility.

CUF called on CCM to go back to the Vienna Convention of 1948 when the UN was formed, specifying that sovereignty and other instruments were necessary for respect, protection and defending human rights, democracy and good governance.