20101029
africanews

Dar es Salaam — The CCM presidential candidate, Mr Jakaya Kikwete said yesterday he was poised for a landslide victory in the Sunday general election and dismissed claims by the opposition that the results could be rigged.

Dar es Salaam — The CCM presidential candidate, Mr Jakaya Kikwete said yesterday he was poised for a landslide victory in the Sunday general election and dismissed claims by the opposition that the results could be rigged.

Mr Kikwete said in an interview with local television stations broadcast live from Arnautoglou hall in Dar es salaam, that the electoral process was air tight and any attempt to distort the election results would be detected.

Opposition parties, especially Chadema are waging propaganda that the ruling party was hatching a scheme to inflate its tally of votes. The Chadema candidate, Dr Willibrod Slaa alleged recently that a container full of fake ballot papers had been imported through the Tunduma border post but police investigations found the consignment to be cosmetics.

"The electoral process is foolproof. Agents of all parties verify every voter and the votes are counted at the polling stations before the agents...there is no room for rigging," he said.

Mr Kikwete, who is the incumbent president, said the propaganda about vote rigging was a sign of desperation by the opposition and was aimed at scaring or confusing voters. He also warned attempts to whip religious sentiments, in which anonymous messages were being circulated purporting that Christian religious leaders wanted the next president to be one of their own.

The rumor has been dismissed by the Tanzania Episcopal Conference and the Christian Council of Tanzania.

"Religious discrimination is more destructive than tribalism because it involves the whole nation. We must reject and expose those campaigning on religious line or we shall all regret the consequences," warned Mr Kikwete.

He slated sections of the media which orchestrated religious campaigns, saying media had the responsibility of fighting such divisive tendencies.

"I met with religious leaders earlier on Friday and they complained that some media outlets deliberately misreported them to meet certain interests. This is unprofessional and detrimental to peace."

Mr Kikwete said his government had strengthened institutional capacity to fight corruption and dismissed criticism that his party's nomination of parliamentary candidates facing prosecution for corruption was a contradiction.

"We discussed this extensively in the party and decided that these people have the right to contest election because they have not been convicted," he explained.

This refers to former cabinet ministers Basil Mramba and Andrew Chenge. The CCM candidate said if re-elected, he would restructure the government and reduce ministries to a manageable number without compromising efficiency.

Critics say the outgoing cabinet with27 ministers and 21 deputies is too heavy. Mr Kikwete said he had laid the foundation for computerization of government business to fight corruption and smoothen public services.

Asked what legacy he would leave behind, the incumbent president said: "I would like Tanzanians to remember my contribution to the improvement of each sector of the economy."