The assurance was made in the Parliament yesterday by the Prime Minister, Mr Mizengo Pinda, when reacting to a question from the leader of the official opposition, Mr Freeman Mbowe.
But Mr Pinda refused to halt the process to give way to amendments of the law. This is in order that the process may be given a legal mandate as well as involve stakeholders, notably political parties, as requested by Mr Mbowe.
The Premier said he could not do that, and was not at liberty to ask NEC to halt the process because he believes that the system has been introduced in good faith to enhance democracy in the country.
Earlier, Mr Mbowe said an election is a sensitive issue which should be handled properly for the country to remain peaceful.
Unfortunately, he said, the NEC has started the process not only without abiding by the law which does not provide for the same, but also without involving stakeholders.
He lamented: “My worry is that stakeholders, especially political parties, might not agree with the new system if it will be forced on them at its final stages. This might create chaos.”
Stressing the need to involve all stakeholders from the word go, Mr Mbowe said a similar system was used in the general elections of Ghana and Kenya recently but proved disastrous.
However, Mr Pinda said Mr Mbowe’s concern stems from worries that many people have on various systems of managing elections.
“We have many ways of managing elections... for instance, we are counting our votes manually, something which has been the source of blames and criticism. Therefore, every system has its shortcomings,” he said.
However, what the PM said yesterday was contrary to what he told the Parliament on Tuesday when winding up his budget speech.
---
Quelle/Source: The Citizen, 19.04.2013
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
