Elections 2010 Incumbent Wins Spirited Election in Tanzania

"Still, this was one of the liveliest elections in Tanzania's history, analysts said, with top politicians campaigning around the country in helicopters and opposition leaders holding huge, boisterous rallies that often ended in clouds of tear gas." Hivi wakati wa kampeni kuna wafuasi wa chama chochote walipigwa mabomu ya machozi? Au alikuwa anamaanisha wakati wa kuhesabu kura? Amenichanganya
 
NAIROBI, Kenya -

President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania was re-elected with 61 percent of the vote, the country's election commission said Friday, after a spirited contest marked by competitive campaigning but marred by relatively poor turnout, unusual delays, street protests and allegations of vote rigging.
His closest rival, a firebrand former Catholic priest who called the ruling party "a party of terrorists," got 26 percent.

Few predicted that the incumbent Mr. Kikwete would lose. His party has essentially been in charge of the large, poor, rural nation since independence nearly 50 years ago, and the political opposition, though energized, is still bitterly divided.

"I'm not surprised," said Azaveli Lwaitama, a political analyst at the University of Dar es Salaam. "If the turnout was low" - election officials put it at 43 percent - "that means the incumbent party managed to scare many voters into not even voting."

Still, this was one of the liveliest elections in Tanzania's history, analysts said, with top politicians campaigning around the country in helicopters and opposition leaders holding huge, boisterous rallies that often ended in clouds of tear gas. Preliminary results from the parliamentary races indicated that opposition parties gained seats, though still not enough to effectively challenge the governing party, the Party of the Revolution.

The elections were held Sunday and it took a full work week to count the votes. On Monday, opposition supporters rioted, accusing the government of intentionally delaying. On Tuesday, European observers said the delays were creating suspicion and that the tallying process was hardly transparent. Many Tanzanians started talking about what happened in Kenya in 2007, when election observers said that the governing party tampered with the vote tallies, changing numbers from what was recorded at the polling places to what was entered into the final count. That election set off ethnic violence across Kenya, killing more than 1,000 people.

On Wednesday, Willibrod Slaa, the former Roman Catholic priest running for president, accused Tanzania's secret police of helping steal votes for the president and called for a recount. On Thursday, other opposition parties echoed that call and said the election had been rigged. The election commission, which many Tanzanian analysts contend is beholden to the president, swatted away the complaints.

Mr. Kikwete's party was formed in the 1970s as a continuation of the Socialist-leaning political party that brought Tanganyika independence in 1961, and it has dominated Tanzanian politics ever since. Its supporters say it has achieved ethnic harmony, making Tanzania one of the most peaceful countries in Africa. Its detractors say it is corrupt. In 2005, Mr. Kikwete won 80 percent of the vote.

Many outsiders, especially wildlife conservation groups, were closely watching this year's race. Mr. Kikwete has vowed to build a new highway through the Serengeti National Park, one of the most celebrated game parks in the world, and made the idea a campaign promise. Scientists around the world have signed petitions saying that such a road could spoil the ecosystem and ruin the annual migration of two million wildebeest, zebras and other animals across the Serengeti.

The Kenyan government is also "gravely concerned," said Gideon Gathaara, Kenya's conservation secretary, because Kenya's famed Masai Mara game reserve is connected to the Serengeti and if the highway blocks the wildebeests, then animal populations in Kenya could plummet.

Kenyan officials said they had been trying to negotiate with their Tanzanian counterparts and hope that once the election was over, the Tanzanian government would reconsider.
 
Newspaper Postings can be biased, but Observers Reports are not.

Please view the link below

allAfrica.com: Tanzania: SADC Electoral Observer Mission Report on Elections (Page 1 of 3)

Clearly ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES ARE IMPORTANT and environmentalists have campaigned against JK; thus the article submitted by Dingswayo






NAIROBI, Kenya -

President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania was re-elected with 61 percent of the vote, the country's election commission said Friday, after a spirited contest marked by competitive campaigning but marred by relatively poor turnout, unusual delays, street protests and allegations of vote rigging.
His closest rival, a firebrand former Catholic priest who called the ruling party "a party of terrorists," got 26 percent.

Few predicted that the incumbent Mr. Kikwete would lose. His party has essentially been in charge of the large, poor, rural nation since independence nearly 50 years ago, and the political opposition, though energized, is still bitterly divided.

"I'm not surprised," said Azaveli Lwaitama, a political analyst at the University of Dar es Salaam. "If the turnout was low" - election officials put it at 43 percent - "that means the incumbent party managed to scare many voters into not even voting."

Still, this was one of the liveliest elections in Tanzania's history, analysts said, with top politicians campaigning around the country in helicopters and opposition leaders holding huge, boisterous rallies that often ended in clouds of tear gas. Preliminary results from the parliamentary races indicated that opposition parties gained seats, though still not enough to effectively challenge the governing party, the Party of the Revolution.

The elections were held Sunday and it took a full work week to count the votes. On Monday, opposition supporters rioted, accusing the government of intentionally delaying. On Tuesday, European observers said the delays were creating suspicion and that the tallying process was hardly transparent. Many Tanzanians started talking about what happened in Kenya in 2007, when election observers said that the governing party tampered with the vote tallies, changing numbers from what was recorded at the polling places to what was entered into the final count. That election set off ethnic violence across Kenya, killing more than 1,000 people.

On Wednesday, Willibrod Slaa, the former Roman Catholic priest running for president, accused Tanzania's secret police of helping steal votes for the president and called for a recount. On Thursday, other opposition parties echoed that call and said the election had been rigged. The election commission, which many Tanzanian analysts contend is beholden to the president, swatted away the complaints.

Mr. Kikwete's party was formed in the 1970s as a continuation of the Socialist-leaning political party that brought Tanganyika independence in 1961, and it has dominated Tanzanian politics ever since. Its supporters say it has achieved ethnic harmony, making Tanzania one of the most peaceful countries in Africa. Its detractors say it is corrupt. In 2005, Mr. Kikwete won 80 percent of the vote.

Many outsiders, especially wildlife conservation groups, were closely watching this year's race. Mr. Kikwete has vowed to build a new highway through the Serengeti National Park, one of the most celebrated game parks in the world, and made the idea a campaign promise. Scientists around the world have signed petitions saying that such a road could spoil the ecosystem and ruin the annual migration of two million wildebeest, zebras and other animals across the Serengeti.

The Kenyan government is also "gravely concerned," said Gideon Gathaara, Kenya's conservation secretary, because Kenya's famed Masai Mara game reserve is connected to the Serengeti and if the highway blocks the wildebeests, then animal populations in Kenya could plummet.

Kenyan officials said they had been trying to negotiate with their Tanzanian counterparts and hope that once the election was over, the Tanzanian government would reconsider.
 
"Still, this was one of the liveliest elections in Tanzania's history, analysts said, with top politicians campaigning around the country in helicopters and opposition leaders holding huge, boisterous rallies that often ended in clouds of tear gas." Hivi wakati wa kampeni kuna wafuasi wa chama chochote walipigwa mabomu ya machozi? Au alikuwa anamaanisha wakati wa kuhesabu kura? Amenichanganya


Iringa ilikuwa kupaka mafuta au?
 
He is always a beggar President, who has failed to tackle the widespread poverty in the country, where more than 60% of people still live below the poverty line.
kikwete begging.jpg
Mr. President is Begging. Saidia baba saidia!!!!
 
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