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Returning officer breaks up CCM rally
2005-10-01 09:28:25
By Guardian Correspondent, Tabora
The Tabora District Returning Officer stunned CCM officials and supporters on Wednesday when he broke up a campaign rally held by the ruling party in the municipality’s Gongoni area.
CCM National Executive Committee member Amina Salum Ali was addressing the crowd when Protas Membe, accompanied by several police officers, walked up to the dais at 5.35pm and asked her to cut short her speech.
Ali, who is also vice-chairperson of CCM’s women’s wing, UWT, was campaigning for the party’s parliamentary and civic candidates in the area when Membe intervened.
The returning officer broke up the meeting and ordered the crowd to disperse as CCM Tabora Regional Secretary Daniel Fussi and other senior CCM regional and district officials who attended the rally looked on in apparent disbelief.
Membe, who is also the acting Tabora Municipality Director, said he had to call off the meeting because CCM had failed to follow the campaign schedule for the district.
He said it was the turn of the United Democratic Party (UDP) to hold a campaign meeting in the area on that day and added that CCM were supposed to hold theirs at the same venue on the following day.
CCM leaders were heard persuading Membe to allow the party to continue with its meeting, but the returning officer turned down the pleas.
’Your Excellency, we know that we have made a mistake, but please forgive us. We have a national figure as the chief guest and we have to hold this meeting today…we have no choice’, a CCM official pleaded.
But Membe retorted: ’Inviting a national figure is not a licence to violate laid-down rules. I’m saying that this meeting should end now. You have gone against what has been agreed by all parties, including yourselves’.
Commenting on the incident, the UDP Publicity Secretary in Tabora Region, Ibrahim Tamim, said Membe had acted within the confines of electoral regulations and lashed out at CCM for its ’nauseating arrogance’.
’CCM knew all along that UDP would be holding a meeting at the venue today, but they chose to go ahead with their rally, saying nobody could dare to stop them.
It shows that these people are not really committed to respecting the rule of law.’
Some CCM leaders, particularly UWT officials, said Membe did not observe protocol in ordering Ali off the dais.
’Yes, CCM may have erred, but the way the returning officer handled the situation leaves a lot to be desired.
He publicly humiliated a national leader and this is not acceptable,’ one official said.
Earlier, Ali called on voters in the area to carefully weigh parties and their candidates with a view to enabling them to know who to vote for in the October 30 elections.
She said voters should also ask opposition candidates what they had done for them as far as the building of schools, health centres and roads and provision of water, education and other social services were concerned.
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