DuaZaMama
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Jumuiya ya Maendeleo ya Nchi za Kusini mwa Afrika (SADC) imesema kuwa uchaguzi uliohitimishwa hivi karibuni nchini Tanzania haukutimiza viwango vinavyohitajika ili kutangazwa kuwa huru na wa haki.
Katika ripoti yake ya awali, Ujumbe wa Waangalizi wa SADC (SEOM) umebainisha kuwepo kwa vitisho dhidi ya viongozi wa upinzani, kuzuia uhuru wa kisiasa, na ukosefu wa uwazi katika mchakato mzima wa uchaguzi.
Ripoti: Baadhi ya maeneo, askari walikuwa wengi kuliko wapiga kura. Pia, wapiga kura walijitokeza wachache sana siku ya Uchaguzi
Richard Msowoya, aliyewahi kuwa Spika wa Bunge la Malawi na ambaye aliongoza ujumbe wa waangalizi wa SADC, alisema Jumatatu kwamba ingawa siku ya kupiga kura ilikuwa na utulivu kwa ujumla, katika maeneo mengi wapiga kura hawakuweza kuonesha kwa uhuru matakwa yao ya kidemokrasia.
Msowoya aliongeza kuwa uchaguzi huo haukutimiza masharti ya Kanuni na Miongozo ya SADC Kuhusu Uchaguzi wa Kidemokrasia (2021), ambayo ndiyo mwongozo unaotumika kama kipimo cha uchaguzi huru, wa haki, na unaoaminika kwa nchi wanachama.
Ujumbe huo pia ulibaini kuwa katika baadhi ya vituo vya kupigia kura vilivyotembelewa, kulikuwa na makaratasi ya kura yaliyopangwa kwa utaratibu ndani ya masanduku wakati wa upigaji kura, hali iliyozua hisia za uwepo wa ujazaji kura (ballot stuffing) na picha kwamba baadhi ya watu waliweza kupiga kura zaidi ya mara moja kwa lengo la kudanganya mfumo wa uchaguzi.
The Southern Africa Development Community(SADC) says the recently concluded Tanzania elections fell short of thethreshold of being declared free and fair.
The SADC Observer Mission (SEOM), in its preliminaryreport, has cited intimidation of opposition leaders, restricted freedoms, and alack of transparency throughout the electoral process.
Former Malawi Speaker of Parliament RichardMsowoya, who led the SADC mission, said on Monday that while voting day waslargely peaceful, in most areas, voters could not freely express theirdemocratic will.
Msowoya said the polls fell short of therequirements of the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing DemocraticElections (2021), which is a guiding benchmark for free, fair, and crediblepolls among member states.
The mission observed that in some polling stations observed, there weremultiple orderly stacked ballots in the ballot box during voting, whichcreated a perception of ballot stuffing and an impression thatindividual(s) cast more than one vote at a time with the intention to cheatthe election system.
“In view of the Mission observations asdetailed above, and mindful of the preliminary nature of this statement, it isthe SEOM's tentative conclusion that, in most areas, voters could not expresstheir democratic will,” the SEOM report released in Dodoma on Monday states.
It adds, “Overall, the 2025 General Electionin the United Republic of Tanzania fell short of the requirements of the SADCPrinciples and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.”
Related to the political and securityenvironment, the mission noted concerns that there were increasing covert andovert limitations on the right to freedom of expression.
“It was also the view of these stakeholdersthat there is heavy censorship of online information platforms. The mission observedthat some social media platforms were not accessible, which could impactcitizens' ability to express and receive political opinions.”
The mission deployed a team of 80, comprising66 observers, 13 SADC Secretariat staff, and one SEAC member.
The SADC observerswere drawn from ten (10) member states, namely, the Kingdoms of Eswatini and Lesotho and the Republics of Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique, Seychelles,South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The SADC mission reported that its observersinitially experienced challenges in consulting with key stakeholders,particularly the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as they hadnot been issued with introduction letters together with accreditation identification cards as required by the law.
There was a violation of the requirement of theSADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021) that Member States “Facilitate the observation of the entire electoral cycle of theirnational elections by SEOMs, including the deployment of Goodwill Missions,Long Term Observers, Short Term Observers, and pre-election assessmentprocesses.”
On election day, the team observed some ‘calmnessand peace,’ which was later attributed to the fear of state machinery andintimidation of voters in most areas.
The observers in Mbeya, Dodoma, Arusha andDar Es Salaam Regions reported incidents of violence where members of the policewere firing arms
“However, a few stakeholders cautioned thatthe general calm and peace belies covert acts of general intimidation of thepopulation and opposition political parties and candidates. These stakeholderscited the alleged abductions of some political activists. They also described atense and intimidating political atmosphere.”
The team said although state-ownedtelevision had scheduled timeslots to cater for all political parties'messaging throughout the campaign period as well as privately owned mediahouses, the state broadcaster was heavily skewed in favour of the ruling CCM party, whileprivate media engaged in self-censorship for fear of reprisals.
“The Mission was further informed that oneof the fundamental reasons for the lack of visibility of opposition parties inthe media and public spaces during the campaign period was limited financialresources. Some stakeholders attributed this to the perceived fear that donorsmight face negative appraisals when they fund opposition parties.”
Although Samia Suluhu Hassan, who was sworninto office today, scored an astronomical figure of almost 98percent, the SADC team says it noted a very low voter turnout in all pollingstations observed, further leading to questions about the credibility of thepolls.
Despite the damning verdict, the SEOM has appealedfor calm, urging Tanzanians to resolve grievances through lawful channels andavoid violence.
“The Mission appeals to the citizens of thecountry to channel their concerns through established legal procedures andprocesses and not resort to violence or threats thereof.”
Katika ripoti yake ya awali, Ujumbe wa Waangalizi wa SADC (SEOM) umebainisha kuwepo kwa vitisho dhidi ya viongozi wa upinzani, kuzuia uhuru wa kisiasa, na ukosefu wa uwazi katika mchakato mzima wa uchaguzi.
Ripoti: Baadhi ya maeneo, askari walikuwa wengi kuliko wapiga kura. Pia, wapiga kura walijitokeza wachache sana siku ya Uchaguzi
Richard Msowoya, aliyewahi kuwa Spika wa Bunge la Malawi na ambaye aliongoza ujumbe wa waangalizi wa SADC, alisema Jumatatu kwamba ingawa siku ya kupiga kura ilikuwa na utulivu kwa ujumla, katika maeneo mengi wapiga kura hawakuweza kuonesha kwa uhuru matakwa yao ya kidemokrasia.
Msowoya aliongeza kuwa uchaguzi huo haukutimiza masharti ya Kanuni na Miongozo ya SADC Kuhusu Uchaguzi wa Kidemokrasia (2021), ambayo ndiyo mwongozo unaotumika kama kipimo cha uchaguzi huru, wa haki, na unaoaminika kwa nchi wanachama.
Ujumbe huo pia ulibaini kuwa katika baadhi ya vituo vya kupigia kura vilivyotembelewa, kulikuwa na makaratasi ya kura yaliyopangwa kwa utaratibu ndani ya masanduku wakati wa upigaji kura, hali iliyozua hisia za uwepo wa ujazaji kura (ballot stuffing) na picha kwamba baadhi ya watu waliweza kupiga kura zaidi ya mara moja kwa lengo la kudanganya mfumo wa uchaguzi.
=====For The English audience======
SADC declares Tanzania elections neither free nor fair
The Southern Africa Development Community(SADC) says the recently concluded Tanzania elections fell short of thethreshold of being declared free and fair.
The SADC Observer Mission (SEOM), in its preliminaryreport, has cited intimidation of opposition leaders, restricted freedoms, and alack of transparency throughout the electoral process.
Former Malawi Speaker of Parliament RichardMsowoya, who led the SADC mission, said on Monday that while voting day waslargely peaceful, in most areas, voters could not freely express theirdemocratic will.
Msowoya said the polls fell short of therequirements of the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing DemocraticElections (2021), which is a guiding benchmark for free, fair, and crediblepolls among member states.
The mission observed that in some polling stations observed, there weremultiple orderly stacked ballots in the ballot box during voting, whichcreated a perception of ballot stuffing and an impression thatindividual(s) cast more than one vote at a time with the intention to cheatthe election system.
“In view of the Mission observations asdetailed above, and mindful of the preliminary nature of this statement, it isthe SEOM's tentative conclusion that, in most areas, voters could not expresstheir democratic will,” the SEOM report released in Dodoma on Monday states.
It adds, “Overall, the 2025 General Electionin the United Republic of Tanzania fell short of the requirements of the SADCPrinciples and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.”
Related to the political and securityenvironment, the mission noted concerns that there were increasing covert andovert limitations on the right to freedom of expression.
“It was also the view of these stakeholdersthat there is heavy censorship of online information platforms. The mission observedthat some social media platforms were not accessible, which could impactcitizens' ability to express and receive political opinions.”
The mission deployed a team of 80, comprising66 observers, 13 SADC Secretariat staff, and one SEAC member.
The SADC observerswere drawn from ten (10) member states, namely, the Kingdoms of Eswatini and Lesotho and the Republics of Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique, Seychelles,South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The SADC mission reported that its observersinitially experienced challenges in consulting with key stakeholders,particularly the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as they hadnot been issued with introduction letters together with accreditation identification cards as required by the law.
There was a violation of the requirement of theSADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021) that Member States “Facilitate the observation of the entire electoral cycle of theirnational elections by SEOMs, including the deployment of Goodwill Missions,Long Term Observers, Short Term Observers, and pre-election assessmentprocesses.”
On election day, the team observed some ‘calmnessand peace,’ which was later attributed to the fear of state machinery andintimidation of voters in most areas.
The observers in Mbeya, Dodoma, Arusha andDar Es Salaam Regions reported incidents of violence where members of the policewere firing arms
“However, a few stakeholders cautioned thatthe general calm and peace belies covert acts of general intimidation of thepopulation and opposition political parties and candidates. These stakeholderscited the alleged abductions of some political activists. They also described atense and intimidating political atmosphere.”
The team said although state-ownedtelevision had scheduled timeslots to cater for all political parties'messaging throughout the campaign period as well as privately owned mediahouses, the state broadcaster was heavily skewed in favour of the ruling CCM party, whileprivate media engaged in self-censorship for fear of reprisals.
“The Mission was further informed that oneof the fundamental reasons for the lack of visibility of opposition parties inthe media and public spaces during the campaign period was limited financialresources. Some stakeholders attributed this to the perceived fear that donorsmight face negative appraisals when they fund opposition parties.”
Although Samia Suluhu Hassan, who was sworninto office today, scored an astronomical figure of almost 98percent, the SADC team says it noted a very low voter turnout in all pollingstations observed, further leading to questions about the credibility of thepolls.
Despite the damning verdict, the SEOM has appealedfor calm, urging Tanzanians to resolve grievances through lawful channels andavoid violence.
“The Mission appeals to the citizens of thecountry to channel their concerns through established legal procedures andprocesses and not resort to violence or threats thereof.”
