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’Private candidates will create ethnic tensions’
2006-05-17 09:42:36
By Mwinyi Sadallah, Zanzibar
Zanzibar Attorney General, Iddi Pandu Hassan has said that allowing independent candidates to run for elective posts in the country has the potential to incite ethnicity and sectarianism.
In an exclusive interview with The Guardian, Pandu said yesterday that political parties play a major role in forging ethnic and religious unity among Tanzanians.
He said, if the law barring independent candidates will be repealed as directed by the High Court, there is a risk of people voting along tribal or religions lines.
’Political parties are an important organ through which the electorate chooses its leaders,’ he said.
’The issue of independent candidates will breed ethnicity among Tanzanians. Political parties promote unity as they are made up of people from diverse ethnic groups,’ he said.
He said that the type of election system being advocated for in the country is only ideal for developed countries, since the candidates are elected on the basis of their agenda.
He said in a developing country like Tanzania, people vote for candidates on the basis of their personality or popularity.
He added that if the provision on independent candidates would be enacted, candidates would be elected on ethnicity and religious platforms.
’The Tanzanian environment is not conducive for independent candidates. It is not easy for an independent candidate to stand on his or her own and bring about development in the country,’ he said.
He further said that Zanzibar still needs time to study the recent verdict by the High Court before enacting the law creating room for independent candidates.
The Attorney General said, the decision by the High Court does not affect the Isles since Zanzibar’s constitution does not permit independent candidates to vie for civic seats.
Early this month, the High Court in Dar es Salaam entered judgment in a case that had been pending before it for a year that gave the green-light to independent candidates to run for parliamentary and presidential posts.
The decision was hailed by activists as a step further in forging freedom of choice and democracy.
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