Chadema national chairman Freeman Mbowe launches the party’s election
training manual for countrywide distribution in Dar es Salaam
yesterday. On his right is the party’s deputy secretary general
(Mainland) John Mnyika.
Dar es Salaam. Chadema national
chairman Freeman Mbowe yesterday declared that the opposition coalition
will not crumble even in the wake of fears that a bruising nomination
process could end their current cooperation.
“If anyone thinks that political parties that
signed the pre-election coalition pact will be divided ahead of the
October General Election, then—that person is dreaming,” said Mr Mbowe.
The political coalition that was triggered by
opposition’s rejection of the constitution making process was launched
on October 26, last year, after four parties signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU), to field and support one candidate at all levels,
including the presidency, in the 2015 General Election.
Four opposition parties—Chadema, CUF, NCCR-Mageuzi
and NLD— signed the pact aimed at “unseating CCM” in this year’s polls.
The parties are members of the Coalition of Defenders of People’s
Constitution (Ukawa).
Addressing the party’s local government leaders in
the city who participated in the civic polls held in December last
year, Mr Mbowe emphasized: “They have been repeatedly making
pronouncements that Ukawa will fight for positions but I want to state
categorically that we are still and we shall remain united until we send
CCM home to form our coalition government after October this year,’’ he
said.
Mr Mbowe launched the countrywide training to
impart skills to party members who intend to vie for various posts in
the ections. Training manuals were distributed to all participants.
Similar training ,according to deputy Secretary
General (Zanzibar) Salum Mwalimu, kicked off yesterday in other regions
across the country.
According to him, the party had already formed a three-man-team that would traverse the entire nation to popularize the party.
The team include Mr Mwalimu, the party’s deputy
secretary General (Mainland), Mr John Mnyika and the party’s lawyer,
Prof Abdalla Safari.
In Iringa region, the training was launched by Rev
Peter Msigwa who told participants that the country was at cross-roads
because the government had failed to solve problems bedeviling majority
Tanzanians.
“This country is at a very difficult situation and
the national debt currently stands at Sh29.4 trillion, meaning every
Tanzanian including the newly born babies need to cough out Sh600,000 to
clear the ballooning debt,’’ he told participants.
According to Mr Mbowe, Ukawa would clinch a
landslide victory in all eight constituencies of Dar es Salaam regions
as well as winning all the mayoral seats of the three districts—Temeke,
Ilala and Kinondoni.