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Makamba rubbishes Chadema intimidation claims
2008-02-23 09:43:20
By Judica Tarimo
As by-election campaigning came to a close in Kiteto constituency in Manyara Region yesterday, the ruling party has dismissed opposition Chadema intimidation claims as baseless and a deliberate ploy to look for a scapegoat in case of a defeat in the election.
A day before the by-election scheduled for tomorrow, opposition parties have been accusing the ruling CCM, police and intelligence officials in Kiteto District of colluding to beat up, intimidate and frustrate their candidate and supporters.
Opposition parties blame the National Electoral Commission (NEC) of poor campaigning schedules beneficial to CCM with a view to vote rigging in the election.
As both sides traded accusations, CCM secretary general Yusuf Makamba said in an interview on Thursday: ``Opposition intimidation claims are not realistic we view them as a witch-hunt and bent on looking for an excuse in case of defeat.``
``CCM is not ready to spend its precious time arguing with people who are dying…they complain because they are afraid of defeat in the elections. One could describe their (opposition) complaints as the kicks of a dying horse,`` said Makamba in an exclusion interview with The Guardian.
He, however, declined to respond to claims related to the collusion by CCM, police and intelligence officials in intimidating and frustrating opposition rallies and supporters.
``As we are talking, I am at a campaign rally selling the CCM candidate and policies to the prospective voters. I am less concerned with the security of political parties. The opposition should understand that security affairs are manned by the police and not CCM,`` said Makamba.
Without going into specifics, the CCM secretary general said opposition parties were misbehaving and involved in shameful acts in the campaigns and electoral processes generally.
``I have seen what the opposition does in these processes…you come and see by yourself. Top opposition leaders, the likes of Zitto Kabwe, are demanding to be sworn in as elections agents.
``Whether this is allowed by the law or not, that is shameful and amounts to lowering the reputation of opposition leaders,`` added Makamba.
Chadema national chairman Freeman Mbowe said on Wednesday that the opposition had vowed to deploy its senior leaders and officials to protect their votes at any cost.
``We are ready to act as elections agents…we don`t bother about our status and posts…our strategic mission is to ensure that the election is fair and free and votes are not stolen. After all, the law does not prevent political leaders from serving as agents in elections,`` said Mbowe.
Reports from the scene show that there is a high possibility for the Chadema candidate, Victor Kimesera, to win the election following massive corruption reports by CCM-led government uncovered recently in Parliament.
Opposition parties are reportedly using corruption scandals to their advantage in the course of selling their policies and candidate to the voters, which puts CCM on the defensive.
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