Jonathan Seeks Cooperation among Observer Groups
Chairman of the Commonwealth Observer Group to the Tanzania general election, former President Goodluck Jonathan has appealed to other regional bodies and international organisations observing the elections to work together to ensure a comprehensive and harmonious coverage of the entire country.
The former president who also encouraged Tanzanians to be peaceful on the day of the elections (Sunday) explained that collaboration among observers was necessary because no single group could deploy enough manpower to effectively cover more than 50, 000 polling stations across Tanzania.
He stated this at a cocktail party hosted by the COG in Dar es Salaam which was attended by head of the African Union Group, former Mozambican President, Mr. Armando Emilio Guebuza; heads of delegation and members of other observer groups representing the European Union (EU), the East African Community and SADC.
Jonathan said: “We have to cooperate to be able to be effective in this assignment. None of us as an observer group can comprehensively deploy across the length and breadth of the country.”
The former president reiterated the need for a free, fair and peaceful election, stressing that those are the ideals that the Commonwealth supports to ensure the credibility and legitimacy of an electoral process.
In a meeting with the Commonwealth Group yesterday the Police in Tanzania expressed the readiness of the force to be present in all the polling stations and polling wards. They promised to be visible everywhere without threatening the voters.
The former president, who arrived Dar es Salaam last Monday, had also visited the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar and has met with a broad spectrum of stakeholders in both the mainland and Zanzibar including President Jakata Kikwete, chairman of the electoral commissions, leaders of political parties, journalists, security agencies, youth organisations and representatives of the civil societies.