Jonathan calls for cooperation among election observer groups in Tanzania

Chairman of the Commonwealth Observer Group to Sunday’s Tanzanian general elections, former President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has appealed to other groups from other regional bodies and internationalorganizations observing the elections to work together to ensure acomprehensive and harmonious coverage of the entire country.
The former President who also encouraged Tanzanians be peaceful on theday of the elections explained that collaboration among observers wasnecessary because no single group could deploy enough manpower toeffectively cover more than 50, 000 polling stations across Tanzania.
He made this known at a cocktail party hosted by the COG at SerenaHotel in Dar es Salaam which was attended by head of the African UnionGroup, former Mozambican President Mr Armando EmilioGuebuza, heads of delegation and members of other observer groupsrepresenting the European Union, the East African Community and SADC.
Jonathan said: “We have to cooperate to be able to be effective inthis assignment. None of us as an observer group can comprehensivelydeploy across the length and breath of the country.”
The former President reiterated the need for free, fair and peacefulelection, stressing that those are the ideals that Commonwealthsupports to ensure the credibility and legitimacy of an electoralprocess.
In a meeting with the Commonwealth Group yesterday the Police inTanzania expressed the readiness of the force to be present in all thepolling stations and polling wards.
They promised to be visibleeverywhere without threatening the voters.
The former president who arrived Dar es Salaam last Monday had alsovisited the semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar and has met with abroad spectrum of stakeholders in both the mainland and Zanzibarincluding President Jakata Kikwete, chairman of the electoralcommissions, leaders of political parties, journalists, securityagencies, youth organisations and representatives of the civil societies.
In his meeting with Kikwete Thursday, the outgoing President assuredJonathan that Sunday’s Presidential election will be transparent, freeand fair.
The outgoing President, whose party is poised for a close contest withthe opposition, gave this assurance while receiving the Commonwealthdelegation led by Jonathan at the Presidential Palace in Dar esSalaam.
Jonathan and his team had gone to pay a courtesy call on the Presidentwhere he thanked Kikwete for the invitation extended to theCommonwealth by the Tanzanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs andInternational Cooperation to be part of the international observerteam for the elections.
The former President informed Kikwete that members of the group which comprises 14 eminent persons drawn from across the different regionsof the Commonwealth “are already being deployed in small teams tovarious provinces across the country to observe preparations ahead ofpolling day.”