Tanzanian polls, expected to hand incumbent Jakaya Kikwete a final term began smoothly Sunday, but voters at some centres on the mainland and in Zanzibar complained of poor organisation.
Some voters who had turned up early in the economic capital Dar es Salaam complained they had not been briefed on the procedure, their names were missing from the list and that the exercise began late.
“Yes we have heard about that. We do not know how how widespread it is. Some voters are turning up and finding their names are not on the list and are unable to vote. Apart from that, voting is proceeding in an orderly manner,” said Paul East, head of the Commonwealth observer group.
On the country’s semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar, which has seen bloody poll violence in the past, voting largely opened on time and was orderly despite an early morning downpour.
On both the mainland and in Zanzibar men and women queued in separate lines. Agence Frannce-Presse correspondents said the process was relatively time-consuming because each voter was choosing legislators and local councillors as well as a president.
The Zanzibar electoral commission said voting for councillors had been delayed in some parts of Pemba island and blamed the “mis-allocation” of ballot papers.
“We want peace and we want economic change. We’ve been educating our children and yet there are no jobs for them,” said 61-year-old Mustafa Masha who came to vote in central Dar es Salaam.
Nurdin Shabir, a trader at another station nearby said: “To me peace is of paramount importance so I can continue making a living for me and my family.”
Kikwete, who has pledged to improve education, health and infrastructure, has predicted victory over his five rivals, some of whom have criticised him for failing to tackle rampant poverty and corruption.
‘Objectives are very achievable’
“Our party will win. I have no doubt about that,” he told thousands of jubilant supporters at a final rally Saturday in Dar es Salaam.
“We have fulfilled our pledges. We still have a long way to go but our objectives are very achievable.”
The opposition Civic United Front’s (CUF) presidential candidate Ibrahim Lipumba criticised Kikewete for failing to honour pledges he made when he first came to power five years ago.
Lipumba is contesting for the fourth time after losing twice to Kikwete’s predecessor and to Kikwete himself in 2005.
Opinion polls have given Kikwete, a former foreign minster, a wide lead.
Wilbrod Slaa of the Chadema party, a first-time contender, is Kikwete’s closest rival but scored just 10% in opinion polls released this month.
During his time as a legislator Slaa (62) pioneered an anti-graft drive that saw the resignation of prime minister Edward Lowassa, several lawmakers and the central bank governor.
In Zanzibar, veteran opposition politician Seif Sharif Hamad of the CUF will face ali Mohamed Shein of the Party of the Revolution (CCM) for the island’s presidency in a contest expected to be closely fought.
But under a power-sharing Constitution adopted in July, they are likely to serve in a unity government aimed at ending recurrent election violence.
The run-up to this year’s elections has been the liveliest since Tanzania, East Africa’s largest country, returned to multiparty politics in 1992.
Tanzania has enjoyed relative stability since independence in 1961 unlike its neighbours which have been plagued by unrest. – AFP