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Mbatia: Kenyan poll lesson for Tanzania
2007-12-31 09:04:57
By Lydia Shekighenda
NCCR–Mageuzi National Chairman James Mbatia yesterday called on Tanzanians to learn from the just ended Kenyan elections.
Addressing a news conference yesterday in Dar es Salaam, he said the poll posed a challenge to other African countries, including Tanzania.
``We should learn from Kenyans both the positive and negative aspects of the elections,`` he told reporters.
``Government leaders should respect public opinion. We need to learn from the conduct of the Electoral Commision of Kenya (ECK) and the political changes taking place in that country,`` he said.
Mbatia, who had just arrived from The Netherlands where he was pursuing his degree in International Civil Engineering and Management, urged politicians to accept change and abandon misconceptions that incumbent leaders were born to rule indefinitely.
He challenged political players to cultivate the culture of forgiving and forgetting, aspects which were vital for the prospering of the country’s politics.
``I am not campaigning for any side in Kenya. What I am saying is that whoever will be elected should respect public interests and not just those of a few,`` he said.
Citing former South African President`s Nelson Mandela, Mbatia described him as a patriotic leader because he was ready to accept change.
Kenyans voted last Thursday in a presidential election preceded by violence, with 70 people dying during the highly charged campaigns.
The presidential contest has been the most closely fought election since the country secured its independence from Britain four decades ago.
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