By Hassan Ali
Zanzibar — Two British lawmakers have expressed their concerns over the way the October 2015 General Election results were handed in Zanzibar.
Presenting a private members motion on Thursday, Stafford Conservative legislator Jeremy Lefroy told the United Kingdom Parliament that overturning of presidential election results in Zanzibar was undemocratic.
The motion by Mr Lefroy, the chairman of the Africa All Parties Parliamentary Groups (AAPPG), who also doubles as the chairman of Tanzania All Parties Parliamentary Groups (TAPPG) in Parliament, was seconded by Labour lawmaker from Bassetlaw John Mann.
Presenting his motion, Mr Lefroy, who once lived in Tanzania, said what happened in Zanzibar was a shame as the election fell short of being described as free and fair.
"What happened in Zanzibar is a shame, depressing and intolerable," he stressed.
In his suggestions, Mr Lefroy, who said he still had Tanzania in his heart, said there was a need to bring together the Union Government and all parties to the Zanzibar political stalemate to discuss the solution.
According to him, a viable solution at the moment was the formation of a Government of National Unity, which would involve all major political players in the Isles.
"This stems from the fact that without Government of National Unity there would not be tangible roll out of development plans in Zanzibar. Even Tanzania can be affected by the problem," he said.
He noted that between 2010 and 2015, when Zanzibar was run by GNU, there was real change, but what happened after that had undermined all the achievements gained.
Commenting on the development, Civic United Front Foreign Affairs director Ismail Jussa Ladhu said was a clear indication that the international community had started understanding what the opposition party had been telling the world since the cancellation of the election.
"In todays world it is impossible to lie or hide the truth. The world needs inclusive, democratic and unity policies if you want to bring development to your people as opposed to views held by some rulers that think that they can stay in power forever," he said.
Zanzibar — Two British lawmakers have expressed their concerns over the way the October 2015 General Election results were handed in Zanzibar.
Presenting a private members motion on Thursday, Stafford Conservative legislator Jeremy Lefroy told the United Kingdom Parliament that overturning of presidential election results in Zanzibar was undemocratic.
The motion by Mr Lefroy, the chairman of the Africa All Parties Parliamentary Groups (AAPPG), who also doubles as the chairman of Tanzania All Parties Parliamentary Groups (TAPPG) in Parliament, was seconded by Labour lawmaker from Bassetlaw John Mann.
Presenting his motion, Mr Lefroy, who once lived in Tanzania, said what happened in Zanzibar was a shame as the election fell short of being described as free and fair.
"What happened in Zanzibar is a shame, depressing and intolerable," he stressed.
In his suggestions, Mr Lefroy, who said he still had Tanzania in his heart, said there was a need to bring together the Union Government and all parties to the Zanzibar political stalemate to discuss the solution.
According to him, a viable solution at the moment was the formation of a Government of National Unity, which would involve all major political players in the Isles.
"This stems from the fact that without Government of National Unity there would not be tangible roll out of development plans in Zanzibar. Even Tanzania can be affected by the problem," he said.
He noted that between 2010 and 2015, when Zanzibar was run by GNU, there was real change, but what happened after that had undermined all the achievements gained.
Commenting on the development, Civic United Front Foreign Affairs director Ismail Jussa Ladhu said was a clear indication that the international community had started understanding what the opposition party had been telling the world since the cancellation of the election.
"In todays world it is impossible to lie or hide the truth. The world needs inclusive, democratic and unity policies if you want to bring development to your people as opposed to views held by some rulers that think that they can stay in power forever," he said.
