We’re working on election manifestos: political parties

Dar es Salaam. Months ahead of the General Election, political parties have told The Citizen they are already crafting their manifestos.

Party officials who spoke to The Citizen said they plan to come up with improved documents compared to those they had in the previous elections.

The four opposition parties-Chadema, CUF, and NCCR-Mageuzi and NLD, which also form the Coalition of Defenders of the People’s Constitution, popularly known as Ukawa, each is preparing its own manifesto.

In October last year, the parties signed a memorandum of understanding so as to put up one presidential candidate during this year’s General Election.

Chadema’s Communications and Publicity director John Mnyika said they began writing the manifesto since last year, whereby they formed a special task force that would collect views and proposals from both members and non-members.

He said the team will also review the party’s 2010 manifesto and policies in order to set proper priorities considering the needs of 2015 and beyond. Once the draft is ready, the team will hand it over to the party’s National Executive Committee, he said.

“It is NEC’s meeting which will put in place the schedule of the party for the forthcoming elections, including when the manifesto will be ready,” Mr Mnyika said. For his party, CUF’s Communications and Publicity deputy director Abdul Kambaya said they have started amending its manifesto in preparation of the new one ahead of the 2015 elections.

“We expect to have the 2015 election manifesto ready by March,” he said.

He said the improvements include charting clear objectives towards proper resource distribution, poverty reduction strategies and strengthening national security.

“We want to focus on ensuring equal distribution of income from the country’s natural resources among Tanzanians,” he said.

The party believes that such move will help in reducing poverty and bring accountability among citizens in protecting the resources.

Also the new manifesto would take into consideration the issue of strengthening national peace and security so that the country does not plunge into conflict.

NCCR-Mageuzi also said it formed a task force that has started work of preparing the new manifesto, whereby its document is expected by next month.

NCCR-Mageuzi’s secretary general John Nyambabe said over the phone that the team was currently working on the document, including drawing inspirations from the 2010 manifesto.

He said the team would also consult manifestos from other countries such as South Africa’s ANC and Kenya’s Jubilee and Cord.

The ruling CCM declined to divulge information on the preparation of its elections manifesto.

Party’s Ideology and Publicity secretary Nape Nnauye said: “I can’t speak about the matter this time.”

But independently this paper established that CCM has already assembled a team that will sit and craft the 2015 General Election manifesto.

Chairman of opposition Chausta James Mapalala said the party had not yet started preparing the document but will start doing so end of this month.