MPs reject voter roll for Isles referendum

Dodoma. Some Members of Parliament here have raised objections to using the permanent voter register in Zanzibar for the referendum, arguing that many people would be locked out. The MPs want the government to suspend the exercise on the grounds that opposition supporters were denied the right to the Isles’ identification cards.

Contributing to the Referendum Bill 2013, the MPs said most wananchi, mainly opposition supporters, were denied the right to the Zanzibar Identitification cards. One must be registered as a resident and granted the ZanId before they can register in the permanent voters roll.

The MPs said only a section of the population would turn up if the government insists on using the register--which they dismissed as undemocratic and unfair. Should the position of the government remain unchanged, it will likely fuel political tensions between the main opposition Civic United Front (CUF) and ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM).

CUF MPs accused the ruling party leaders of directing local government officials, popularly known as “Sheha”, not to give CUF supporters identity cards.

Zanzibar signed on to a government of unity after an agreement between CCM and CUF in November 2010 that was designed to end a decade-long political crisis in the islands.

Yesterday, CUF MPs accused the Sheha of directing the move to deny opposition supporters their rights. Mr Musa Haji Kombo (Chakechake--CUF) said the government must suspend the permanent voters register immediately and establish a new process of registering wananchi if the opinion poll process was to proceed fairly and smoothly.

“The government should suspend the current permanent voters register so that every mwananchi who meets the criteria is registered and allowed to participate in the opinion poll,” Mr Kombo said. “The current system allows only those who possess the ZanId.”

He accused the Sheha of taking orders from CCM leaders on how to handle wananchi who support the opposition. “It is obvious that these Sheha are being used by the ruling party to suppress the opposition,” he added. According to Mr Kombo, wananchi in Zanzibar should be re-registered without the ZanId as a pre-condition.

Mr Khatibu Haji Suleimani (Konde-CUF) said many people in his constituency do not have the ZanId. “There are more than 1,000 wananchi in my constituency who have been denied ZanId by the Sheha because they support the opposition,” he added. “This means they will not participate in the opinion poll if there are no changes to the rule.”

According to Mr Suleimani, the problem has been fuelled by the ruling party’s fear of losing the polls, which would supposedly render it unable to protect its interests. “What we are doing here goes further than our political parties,” he added. “We should give our people the opportunity to participate in this crucial exercise.”

Mr Ali Khamis Seif (Mkoani-CUF) asked the government to prepare another register that will include all wananchi above 18 without taking the ZanId as a principal consideration. He wants the ZanId applied only in registering the people for general and local government polls. “Let use the permanent voter register for general and local government elections,” he added. “The government must come up with another process that will enable wananchi register for the constitution opinion poll.”

Ms Riziki Omary Juma (Special Seats-CUF) told parliament that the process of getting a ZanId and getting on the permanent voter register in Zanzibar was influenced by political ideologies. She accused the Sheha and ruling party leaders of suppressing wananchi and denying them the right to registration and possession of the ZanId on the basis of political differences. “I can tell this parliament that most CCM members have ZanId and are all registered in the permanent voter register,” Ms Juma added.

Earlier, Opposition Spokesman Tundu Lissu said there had been complaints about the registration of voters in Zanzibar and it was “obvious” that many wananchi were being denied the right to vote. The Zanzibar Election Act of 1984 requires Zanzibaris to have lived in a constituency for more than 36 months to be allowed to vote. Mr Lissu dismisses this as another obstacle since there is no clear evidence or records to track people’s movements.

He added that the law also runs counter to the current constitution, which allows everyone above 18 to vote under Article 5(1) and the Zanzibar constitution under article 7(2).

The chairperson of the Parliamentary Constitutional, Legal Affairs and Governance Committee, Ms Pindi Chana, said though that the Bill was well prepared and MPs should focus on strengthening it so there could be a powerful law to lead the constitution-making process. Her committee was aware that the permanent voters register in Zanzibar was already being updated, she said, and the same process would be applied on the mainland.

“The Bill suggests the use of permanent voter registers in Zanzibar and Tanzania mainland,” she added. “In Zanzibar, the process of registering new wananchi and dropping the names of those who have moved elsewhere or died is already on course and we suggest that the same process takes place on the mainland too.”

The Minister of State in the PM’s Office for Policy, Co-ordination and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr William Lukuvi, said the Bill was divided into five chapters and all opinion poll processes would be organised and supervised by the National Election Commission and the Zanzibar Election Commission.