Ukawa deadlocked on candidate for presidency Coalition says it will have a name in a week’s time
Chadema information officer Tumaini Makene briefs journalists in Dar es salaam yesterday on the progress of the UKAWA meeting convened to elect the coalition�s presidential candidate.
James Mbatia, a co-chairperson of the coalition, informed the press that Ukawa will have a name within the next seven days.
The coalition convened a meeting yesterday in Dar es Salam and was behind doors for hours as Chairpersons and general secretaries of the political parties forming Ukawa and members of its Technical Committee, the Ukawa Think Tank and the coalition’s Summit deliberated the matter.
Reports said the 26 new constituencies announced on Monday by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) stalled the Coalition’s decision as did the matter of legal requirement for the President and the Vice President aspirants to be from the same party.
The matter was of much contention since the coalition has several parties all vying to get a representative in one of the two top posts.
“The coalition has already agreed on a presidential candidate but they are now finalising on how to divide the 26 constituencies,’ Chadema’s Spokesperson Tuamaini Mkaene told reporters at dusk.
In October last year, opposition parties that make up the Coalition for the People's Constitution (Ukawa) agreed to have a single candidate to run for the presidential post.
The parties that inked the historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Dar es Salaam include the leading opposition party Chadema, Civic United Front (CUF), NCCR-Mageuzi and National League for Democracy (NLD).
Reading contents of the signed document, Chadema’s Secretary General Dr Wilbroad Slaa said the parties have decided to sign the MoU ‘to fight for the people’s interest’ and on top of that, to mobilise the public to reject the proposed Constitution.
“The agreement will allow us to work together to consolidate the four political parties’ policies to better serve the interest of the people as one party and will ease ascension of a single candidate to represent the four parties in the upcoming General Election,” he explained.
Announcing the new constituencies at the start of the week, NEC chairperson, Judge (retired) Damian Lubuva said the demarcation of the constituencies was
meant to take into consideration the growing population and the increase of new councils.
Lubuva said that out of the 26 new voting constituencies, six of them had been established due to the increase in the population and 20 of them were as a result of the increasing number of councils.
He said that in Dar es Salaam alone two constituencies have been added these are Kibamba and Mbagala making a total of 10 constituencies in the region.
Other new constituencies included Handeni Urban (Tanga), Nanyamba (Mtwara), Makambako, (Njombe) Butiama (Mara) Tarime Urban (Mara) and Tunduma (Mbeya).
Others are Nsimbo and Kavuu in Katavi, Geita Urban (Geita), Mafinga Urban, (Njombe), Kahama Urban (Shinyanga) and Ushetu (Shinyanga).
As well as Nzega Urban (Tabora), Kondoa Urban (Dodoma), Newala Urban (mtwara), Mbulu urban (Arusha), Bunda urban (Mara), Ndanda (Mtwara), Madaba (Ruvuma) and Mbinga Urban.
The constituencies which were established by considering population quota included Mbagala and Kibamba in Dar es Salaam, Vwawa in Mbeya, Manonga and Ulyankulu in Tabora and Mlimba in Morogoro.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
