Zanzibar Chief Minister Shamsi Vuai Nahodha says there isn’t enough time to amend the constitution to allow President Amani Abeid Karume (above) to remain in office after his term expires in October this year.
The revelation comes just a week after a senior official of the opposition CUF, among others, proposed that Zanzibar President should be given a third term.
President Karume's second and final five-year term is due to end later this year, but CUF Foreign Affairs Director Ismail Jussa said that there was a need to allow Dr Karume to consolidate peace initiatives in the Isles. Speaking to reporters on preparations to mark the 46th Zanzibar Revolution Day to be held on Tuesday, the chief minister said although a number of political and religious leaders have called for extension of office term for Karume, the whole issue was ill-timed.
He said constitutional amendment was not such an easy thing that could be done without seeking views from members of the public, bearing in mind that it is of immense national interest.
Nahodha noted that such an amendment had sensitive bearings on the constitutions of both the United Republic of Tanzania and of the ruling party, CCM, adding that both parties must be involved in any amendment.
“There is not enough time to discuss the amendment of the constitution and reach a consensus as the matter touches the Union government as well as the ruling party,” he said.
On a different note, the minister said it was surprising to hear people talk of a coalition government before general elections while President Karume has not even talked about it.
Nahodha said steps reached by the two leaders should be supported by the public since the initiative will promote national unity and development.
“I have never heard President Karume nor our party talk of a coalition government, and so we should not raise unnecessary issues,” he counselled.
He said the president always insists in most of his meetings that the government cannot make decisions on matters of national interest without seeking public opinion.
The chief minister alleged that it all started in Butiama during CCM’s National Executive Committee (NEC) when the issue arose, but it was agreed that it could be agreed upon through referendum.
Other groups that called for the extension of Karume’s term include Imam Council of Zanzibar and National League for Democracy (NLD), saying the glimpse of peace currently in the country could only be improved through a coalition government under the leadership of Karume.
Imam Council of Zanzibar leader, Sheikh Farid Hadi and his AFP counterpart, Soud Said Soud, had suggested that this year’s election be postponed and a coalition government be formed with Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad as the chief minister.
Nevertheless Nahodha declined to declare his stand on allegations that he is planning to succeed President Karume when his term ends, saying it was still too early to state his position on the matter.
“If there are some people campaigning for me to take over from President Karume, let them continue but they won’t succeed unless I make the decision myself. I cannot declare my stand as the president recently rebuked presidential hopefuls who were mudslinging others ahead of elections set for later this year,” he said. However he said Zanzibar has made great achievements in education, infrastructure and financial sectors in the last 46 years.
The controversial issue of whether Zanzibar should change its constitution is not a new thing as former president Salmin Amour Juma unsuccessfully tried to change it but party decision scrapped.
Many people applauded the Dodoma decision to discourage Salmin to change the Isles constitution to give the president an open room to run for three terms in office.
The Dodoma decision which was made by high level CCM decision-making organs, received big support from all political stakeholders, including the opposition camp.
This indicated that the constitution of any country cannot be tampered with because such a trend would lead the state into chaos.
But CUF’s Jussa said Zanzibar had four elections before the 1964 revolution in July 1957, January 1961, June 1961 and July 1963, and three in 1995, 2000 and 2005 after the reintroduction of multiparty politics in 1992.
"With the possible exception of the 1957 elections, none were conducted to the full satisfaction of the electorate," he said.
He said what was really missing in Zanzibar was the people's trust in institutions charged with organising and overseeing elections.
Jussa added that lasting harmony could only be attained in Zanzibar if the source of the mistrust that had existed for decades in the Isles was addressed.
He noted that contrary to the views of many, the problem in Zanzibar was neither historical nor did it have anything to do with the perceived differences between people hailing from Unguja and Pemba.
"The problem in Zanzibar is antagonism between followers of the two largest parties in the Isles," Jussa said, adding that the mistrust dated back to 1988 when several senior CUF officials were expelled from CCM.
A lasting solution could be found through building trust between the two political camps by making them work together in the running of state affairs, he said.
Commenting on calls for President Karume's tenure to be extended, former University of Dar es Salaam lecturer Mwesiga Baregu said the problems in Zanzibar required a broader solution rather than banking on Karume alone.
He noted that the past three conciliatory meetings (mwafaka) were stalled because they were wrongly formulated.
"I think Mwafaka meetings should have been at the Zanzibar level with the two parties left to iron out their differences, the national level should only come in to protect the interests of the Union as well as supplement what was agreed," he said.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
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