20101030
Citizen

Dar es Salaam — The three major political parties wind up their election campaigns today, ending a tough battle that has seen the presidential candidates traverse the width and breadth of the vast country, to woo the 19.6 million eligible voters.

The gruelling campaigns, during which the voters have been treated to promises galore and a rich menu of entertainment, will culminate in the final rallies in Mbeya and Dar es Salaam by the three leading contenders in the race to State House.

The rallies will end just hours before Tanzanians flock to the 53,000 polling stations countrywide, to cast their ballots tomorrow to choose the country's leadership for the next five years. This is the fourth General Election since the restoration of multi-party democracy.

The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) candidate, President Jakaya Kikwete, who is seeking re-election to this second and final five-year term, will hold his final rally at Jangwani grounds in Dar es Salaam.

He faces a spirited challenge from Chadema's Dr Willibrod Slaa, who is making his maiden attempt. Dr Slaa will be in Mbeya City, in the Southern Highlands.

Prof Ibrahim Lipumba, the chairman of Civic United Front (CUF), who has thrown his hat in the ring for the fourth time, will also wind up his campaign at a rally in Dar es Salaam.

President Kikwete returns to Jangwani grounds, in what is expected to be a closely watched rally, following his personal mishaps at two past campaign meetings at the same venue. On August 21, while launching his re-election bid, President Kikwete collapsed at the podium.

The interruption lasted 15 minutes, as he was attended to, before he returned to briefly resume his address to the anxious crowd. The function was, however, cut short. Incidentally, the President had fainted at Jangwani in December 2005, as he wound up his campaign in the election he later won.

Today's rally by the CCM candidate was organised to follow his last night's live TV interview with a selected team of editors, during which he was expected to answer questions on some of his campaign promises and expound on his policies for the next five years if he re-elected.

Dr Slaa, who has mounted a stiff challenge, since his unexpected entry into the race, will address supporters in the vote-rich Mbeya Region, which his party's strategists consider pivotal in his poll victory plan. The former Karatu MP, who was yesterday in Lindi in the southern region, left Dar es Salaam after holding his 417th campaign rally at Mbagala on Thursday.

Prof Lipumba, who held his well-attended final rally on Thursday, at Jangwani Grounds, will today be at Kidogo-Chekundu, also in the city. The smaller parties, including NCCR-Mageuzi and TLP, wound up their campaigns early due to financial constraints.

This year's campaign has seen the top candidates and their political parties raise the stakes by employing massive displays, including the now popular use of helicopters to cover more areas and reach more people. The show of logistical might was largely evident in the CCM and Chadema campaigns.

CCM declared it had a Sh40 billion war chest for the campaigns and deployed three helicopters for its presidential candidate. Chadema's Dr Slaa has only one helicopter on standby.

It was Chadema national chairman Freeman Mbowe, who, in the 2005 presidential elections, introduced the contest in the skies, before CCM followed suit.

Another of Chadema member, Mr Philemon Ndesamburo, who is defending his Moshi Urban parliamentary seat, also uses a helicopter in his campaigns. He is said to own the chopper presidential candidate Slaa has been using in the current campaigns.

The helicopters have been a major attraction, especially in the remote rural villages, where locals have been marvelling at this mode of transport.

The CCM campaign manager, Mr Abdurhman Kinana, told The Citizen that President Kikwete had already covered 48,000 kilometres, falling just short of the 50,000 kilometres he clocked in the 2005 campaigns. His campaign team reduced his campaign rallies over his health concerns.

"Our candidate has campaigned in all the 26 regions on the Mainland and Zanzibar and covered most of the districts in the country," said Mr Kinana.

The candidate, he added, had addressed 700 meetings, doing nearly 10 every day.

The ruling party has fielded candidates in all the 239 constituencies. Mr Kinana said 20 of them, or 10 per cent of the total number, have no opponents. CCM has also already bagged 560 civic seats among 3,337 being fought for.

Chadema's campaign manager, Prof Mwesiga Baregu, said Dr Slaa had conducted more than 450 rallies within the 71-day campaign period. He has also been to all the regions on the Mainland and a few in Zanzibar. "Our aim was to hold not less than 500 rallies that we believed were enough to reach to most of the people we targeted," said Prof Baregu.

The party has 180 parliamentary candidates.

Tanzania Labour Party (TLP) deputy secretary general Hamad Tao said their presidential candidate, Mr Muganywa Mutamwega, had visited 10 regions on the Mainland and addressed 38 meetings. TLP, whose national chairman, Mr Augustine Mrema, is running for a parliamentary seat, has 100 candidates in the race for the 239 constituencies.

APPT Maendeleo's presidential candidate, Mr Peter Kuga Mziray, held 36 public rallies in Dar es Salaam, Coast Region, Morogoro, Tanga, Mbeya, Iringa, Ruvuma, Kigoma, Mwanza, Arusha and Kilimanjaro. He said he did not visit Kagera and Mara regions because the opposition is already entrenched there. He used a single car mounted with a public address system.

Leonard Magomba

Supporters of the ruling party at a campaign rally (file photo).

NCCR Mageuzi's presidential candidate, Mr Hashim Rungwe, and Mr Fahni Dovutwa, of the United People's Democratic Party (UPDP), addressed 10 and six campaign rallies, respectively.

NCCR Mageuzi official Faustine Suingura said they had covered only Dar es Salaam and Kigoma regions due to financial difficulties.

Mr Dovutwa, who pledged to withdraw Tanzania from the East African Community and establish armament factory, if elected President, attributed his poor showing to ill health. The furthest he went from Dar es Salaam is Morogoro.

"But with the media coverage I believe the people have heard about us and will be ready to listen to us in future," he said.

Reported by Florence Mugarula, Bernard Lugongo and Beatus Kagashe