{Ukawa presidential candidate Edward Lowassa yesterday hit out at President Jakaya Kikwete’s government, saying it was responsible for the hardships Tanzanians were facing.}
The former prime minister made the remarks when addressing Ukawa supporters outside the Civic United Front (CUF) headquarters in Buguruni, Dar es Salaam.
He said Tanzanians were worse off now than when President Kikwete took over from Mr Benjamin Mkapa ten years ago..
“You know what the price of sugar was when Mkapa left. Just see how much people are now paying for a kilo of sugar,” he told the cheering crowd.
Mr Lowassa said failure by the CCM government to strengthen the economy was one of many reasons that prompted him to leave the party.
He appealed to members and supporters of the four parties under Ukawa to vote CCM out of power on October 25 and give him the opportunity to lead the country out of poverty.
He urged them to turn out in big numbers today to escort him and his running mate, Mr Juma Duni Haji, to pick up nomination forms from the National Electoral Commission (NEC) headquarters in Dar es Salaam.
Mr Lowassa, who quit the ruling party last month, also asked Ukawa supporters to “guard” their votes and ensure that CCM does not “steal” them and deny the coalition victory.
“They’re very good at stealing votes. Let’s get 90 per cent of the votes so that if they steal 10 per cent we can forgive them,” he said.
Mr Lowassa also allayed fears of a split following last week’s resignation of Prof Ibrahim Lipumba as CUF chairman. He said Prof Lipumba’s departure had not weakened Ukawa, and appealed to the coalition’s supporters to maintain unity ahead of the elections.
“Ukawa is still very strong. The remaining leaders are incorruptible. We know that there are attempts to bribe them and buy them off, but they won’t succeed,” he said.
Mr Lowassa served President Kikwete’s government as prime minister for two years and one month before resigning in February 2008 after a parliamentary probe committee linked him with the Richmond scandal.
Chadema chairman Freeman Mbowe accused the government of going out of its way to divide Ukawa leaders, adding that there were attempts to destroy the coalition from within.
“A leader among us who is against our goals and ideals is not good for us. We in Chadema are not fighting for leadership posts but the liberation of this country,” he said.
CUF Secretary-General Seif Sharif Hamad, who is also First Vice President of Zanzibar, told the crowd that nothing could break their resolve, adding that unity was key if they were to oust CCM.
Chadema’s chief legal adviser, Mr Tundu Lissu, scoffed at reports that were making the rounds in social media that Mr Lowassa was not qualified to run for President.
He said the Constitution does not say that a person can only stand as a candidate if he or she had been a member of a political party for a minimum of three months.
“This claim is baseless. What both the Union and Zanzibar constitutions say is that a political party with permanent registration will nominate a presidential candidate and his/her running mate.”
Mr Lissu, who is also the outgoing Singida East MP, said the false information was aimed at sabotaging Ukawa.
The Chadema secretariat was busy yesterday planning the collection of NEC candidacy application forms by Mr Lowassa.
Mr Lowassa’s campaign team was distributing tags to party members and supporters who will escort him to NEC headquarters.
The tags bore the names of Mr Lowassa and Mr Haji and their pictures.
Chadema communications officer Tumaini Makene said Mr Lowassa’s entourage would set out from CUF headquarters at around 9am.
Sources close to Mr Lowassa’s team told The Citizen that people would line the route to NEC offices and cheer the Ukawa presidential candidate, who would be driven in an open vehicle.
Leaders of the four Ukawa parties – Chadema, CUF, NCCR-Mageuzi and NLD – are expected to accompany Mr Lowassa to NEC headquarters.
They include Mr Mbowe, Mr James Mbatia (NCCR-Mageuzi) and Dr Emmanuel Makaidi (NLD). CUF is expected to be represented by Mr Hamad, who is also the coalition’s candidate for the Zanzibar presidency.
Ukawa officials were yesterday burning the mid-night oil to try to match or exceed the pomp that surrounded the collection of forms by CCM’s candidate, Dr John Magufuli, last week.
Others who have so far collected candidacy application forms from NEC include Mr Hashim Rungwe of the Chama Cha Ukombozi wa Umma (Chaumma), the Reverend Christopher Mtikila of the Democratic Party (DP), Mr Fahmy Dovutwa of the United People’s Democratic Party (UPDP) and Mr Lutasolwa Yemba of the Alliance for Democratic Change (ADC).
Additional reporting by Katare Mbashiru
{{The Citizen}}
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