'Politics is my second wife', says Maalim Seif
What you need to know:
Mr Hamad has vied for Zanzibar’s presidency on the ticket of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) for five times starting 1995.
Dar es Salaam. ACT-Wazalendo chief party advisor Mr Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad is not contemplating to stop vying for political posts, saying: “Politics is my second wife”.
“It was not my choice to get into politics. I was forced into this [business]. It is part of my life. Politics is my second wife,” he told Mwananchi Communications Limited (MCL) editors on Wednesday, March 04, 2020.
Mr Hamad has vied for Zanzibar’s presidency on the ticket of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) for five times starting 1995.
In March last year (2019), he decamped to ACT-Wazalendo after a protracted ‘battle of control’ of CUF with the party’s national chairman, Prof Ibrahim Lipumba.
During all his five attempts on the presidency, he claimed to have won but that authorities were deliberately shifting his victory to the ruling party candidate.
Some of his political adversaries believe at 76 years old, it was time for him to rest and give the chance to youths.
But in response, he said: “Youths have the right to contest in any political position and our party, ACT-Wazalendo, is encouraging that. My decision to contest does not bar anyone from contesting…We are glooming youths but youths are youths and sometimes, they make hasty decisions [which end up yielding poor results]”.
