The Secretary General of the ruling party CCM has requested the Ministry of State, President Office, Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG) to disregard minor errors that led to many parties’ candidates being disqualified in the local government elections.
He said that this step would help ensure that many citizens who came forward to participate in the elections through their political parties have the right to run in the local government elections scheduled for November 27, 2024.
Nchimbi, who spoke with media editors at the CCM Lumumba offices, Dar es Salaam emphasized that the appeal to PO-RALG was made following discussions with the CCM Chairperson, Samia Suluhu Hassan, who is also the President of Tanzania.
“We are therefore asking the relevant authorities, especially PO-RALG, in this final stage of appeal, to ignore minor mistakes so that more of our people, more Tanzanians, have the opportunity to run,” said Nchimbi.
He explained that, in the limited time left for making decisions on appeals from candidates challenging disqualifications, PO-RALG officials should focus on major and fundamental issues that genuinely warrant disqualification, rather than on minor matters.
“We understand that local government officials have used the law, but it’s also essential to remember that our democracy is still young and needs time to grow,” Nchimbi stressed.
This statement from CCM comes as various opposition parties, particularly CHADEMA and ACT-Wazalendo, complain about thousands of their candidates being disqualified due to alleged flaws in form submissions or objections raised.
Earlier today, CHADEMA’s National Vice-Chairperson, Tundu Lissu, spoke while in Singida region about the disqualification of his party’s candidates across the country, saying that the current situation mirrors the 2019 local elections, despite promises from the current government that this election would be free and fair.
“What happened in 2019, with opposition candidates disqualified everywhere across the country, is happening again. In Dar es Salaam, the city with the highest population, over 95% of opposition candidates have been disqualified,” said Lissu.
Lissu highlighted that many of the alleged disqualification reasons lack merit, citing, for instance, candidates disqualified for using abbreviations in forms.
He added: “Some candidates were disqualified for using known abbreviations. For example, ‘H/Kijiji’ for Village Council. Who doesn’t know this abbreviation? Who doesn’t know ‘H/Singida’ stands for Singida Council? Why is it okay to use ‘CCM’ or ‘CHADEMA’ abbreviations but not others? There is no law in the country that does not recognize known abbreviations.”
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On ACT-Wazalendo’s side, a statement from the party claims that approximately 51,423 of its candidates for various local government positions have been disqualified. The party has urged the election authorities to reinstate their candidates.
“We inform you that 51,423 of our candidates have been disqualified, and we urge the Minister of PO-RALG, Mr. Mchengerwa, to publicly demand that election supervisors reinstate all our disqualified candidates,” reads part of the ACT-Wazalendo statement.
According to a PO-RALG statement, the appeal response process is expected to conclude on November 13, 2024, after which the campaign period will be announced, with the voting day set for November 27, 2024.
The election will involve 12,333 villages, 4,269 streets, and 64,274 hamlets. Alongside chair positions in these respective areas, the election will also include seats for village and street council members, with six representatives per village or street.
