Public fault govt over diaspora votes.

Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda.

 Members of the public expressed mixed feelings yesterday on the government’s sidelining of Tanzanians in diaspora in connection with the October General Elections.

 

Those against the decision said the government was not serious enough in handling the issue, while those supporting it argued that allowing the diaspora to vote would have created loopholes for vote rigging.

 

Yet others were of the view that the exercise, if it was not handled properly it might as well be used in vote rigging.

 

Members of the public were airing their views only a day after the government said that Tanzanians in diaspora will not vote in the General Elections pending review of the 1985 Election Act and the challenges facing voters’ registration through Biometric Voter Register (BVR).

 

Dr Bashiru Ally from the University of Dar es Salaam’s Political Science Department blamed the government for its failure to work on the matter seriously.

 

He said the issue of Tanzanians living in diaspora to vote in the General Elections was raised since 2010 and that if it was given much weight they could be in a position to vote in the coming elections.

 

Holding the government culpable for its failure to give priority on issues pertaining to democracy such as BVR, Dr Bashiru said if such matters were worked out earlier such challenges could have been minimised as the country heads to the General Elections “Democratisation is a sustainable process … if the government had worked seriously to enable diasporas to vote, such could have been a well established system,” he said.

 

For his part, University of Dar es Salaam senior lecturer Dr Benson Bana said the government was not committed to work on the matter.

 

Absence of accurate and reliable information on the number of Tanzanians in diaspora was a challenge in implementing the process, he said.

 

Dr Bana said even if the government could have shown its commitment still there was a challenge as embassies abroad have no accurate information on the number of people living abroad.

 

He explained that if those in diaspora would put pressure in order the government recognises their rights to vote, it could then respond to that as it did in the case of the Constituent Assembly.

 

“Laws and regulations can be amended, so it is upon those in diaspora to demand for this crucial right  to vote,” he said.

 

Seconding the argument, the Legal and Human Rights Centre executive director, Dr Hellen Kijo-Bisimba said the government should look for an alternative way to allow Tanzanians in diapsora to vote in the coming General Elections so that they exercise their constitutional right.

 

She explained that the government had since 2010 known clearly about this problem; therefore it could have made arrangements within the system to ensure that all people get their right to vote.

 

“If the government was committed to work on it, then Tanzanians abroad could now be in a position to vote through the BVR,” she said.

 

Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) national vice chairman Prof Abdallah Safari expressing fears  said if Tanzanians abroad will be allowed to vote there would be possibilities of cheating since there are no accurate data on such voters.

He said despite the advanced technology put into use, most of the Tanzanian envoys have no accurate data of people living in the countries where they work.

 

“Since there are no data, therefore there are possibilities of cheating,” he observed.

 

While in London last week, Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda announced that Tanzanians in Diaspora will not vote in the coming General Elections pending review of the Election Act 1985 and the challenges facing voters’ registration in the Biometric Voter Register (BVR).

 

He said that the law required all voters to be registered in the permanent voters’ registrar, and that the government will be compelled to purchase enough BVR kits for all its embassies so as to facilitate the registration of the diasporas.

 

“It might not be possible this year, may be in the 2020 General Elections,” the Prime Minister was quoted as saying. 

 

He said there is a combination of factors to consider, including the review of the Election Act, 1985 and procurement of enough BVR kits.

 

In February this year, however, Pinda told the National Assembly in Dodoma that Tanzanians in diaspora are likely to have a chance to take part – as voters – in this year’s General Elections.