Tendwa: CCJ membership screening to continue
By Dominic Nkolimwa
7th June 2010
Party officials plan legal action
The Registrar of Political Parties, John Tendwa has said that he will not abandon the verification of Chama Cha Jamii members arguing that he is following rules and regulations.
He however refuted allegations that he was being used by CCM to sabotage CCJ, after no one appeared claiming to be a member of the new party in Coast and Morogoro regions.
"I am executing my duties and it has nothing to do with being used by other political parties," he said.
Speaking to The Guardian yesterday by telephone Tendwa said that he has not received any letter from CCJ asking him to suspend the membership verification as earlier claimed by CCJ, saying that it was in his authority to decide whether to suspend it or not.
"Even if I would have received the letter, I am the one to decide whether to suspend the exercise or not," he said.
He said he does not plan to abandon the exercise which has so far covered Dar es Salaam, Coast and Morogoro region.
Tendwa said only 13 members, all in Dar es Salaam, have been verified after carrying out the exercise in three regions.
On CCJ plan to file a case against him, Tendwa said they were free to do so, as their constitutional right.
"If CCJ have decided to file a case let them do so because it is their right, but I assure them that all the required procedures, rules and regulations have been observed in carrying out the verification exercise since day one," he said.
He said the office of the Registrar of Political Parties cannot decide on its own to verify the members without agreeing with the respective political party, adding that the exercise was conducted in public in collaboration with the leader of the political party seeking for permanent registration.
CCJ Deputy General Secretary Dickson Ngh'illy yesterday said that his party plan to file a case against the Registrar of Political Parties has not been shelved.
"It is true we are intending to file a case against Tendwa because after making a thorough research on the verification, we found that Tendwa must be taken to court," Ngh'illy said.
"We wonder why the exercise is continuing while we have asked him to stop… we wrote him a letter on June 3 asking for the exercise to be stopped," he said.
"What we know is that we sent our letter to his office and our dispatch has been signed, indicating that the letter has been received by his office," said Ng'illy.
Last week, the registrar refused to embark on the verification, saying his office was still screening the membership portfolios of several other parties that had approached it and was without the money it needed to conduct the exercise.
At a news conference a couple of days later, however, CCJ spokesman Fred Mpendazoe accused the registrar's office of sabotaging the party and gave Tendwa a week to embark on the verification or face legal action.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN