Why registration as voters is a do-or-die affair for many
In Summary
The majority of Tanzanians apparently view the voter's card as a precious possession with a value beyond the October 25 elections
By Songa wa Songa The Citizen Reporter
Dar es Salaam. The fear of missing out on the ongoing biometric registration of voters scaled up the exercise to a do-or-die affair for Dar es Salaam residents, so much so that they lined-up for hours on end to get the all-important card.
City residents turned up in large numbers for the second day running to beat the July 31 deadline set by the National Electoral Commission (NEC).
The majority of Tanzanians apparently view the voter's card as a precious possession with a value beyond the October 25 General Election.
NEC's announcement that the old cards, which have for years been taken as standard identification for citizenship, will cease to be a valid identity has seemingly fuelled the rush to get a replacement. The huge turnout has been a common feature across the country and NEC has struggled to deliver as its equipment and personnel have been overwhelmed by demand. The situation in Dar es Salaam, with an estimated population of nearly six million, is bound to be worse. And this despite an assurance by the polls body that enough kits would be available.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, nearly three million people in the city are eligible for registration. There were fears that the 10 days allocated to the exercise would not be adequate as technical glitches and incompetence on the part of clerks was slowing down the exercise.
The link between the voters' card and citizen identification was made clear in the 2010 General Election, when more than 20 million people had the old generation cards but only eight million voted. The number has likely shot up with more people attaining the age of 18 and, therefore, qualifying to vote.
Many city residents interviewed admitted that, much as they were keen to take part in the poll, the country still lacked other means to identify its own people.
"The national identity project has not progressed much and not even a quarter of the eligible population has been issued with the national ID card," said Mr Miraji Abadallah, who lined up for more than six hours to get his.
The National Identification Agency (Nida) has reportedly issued slightly over six million IDs and, like NEC, it has been held back by lack of funds to speed up the exercise. If NEC and Nida combined forces with NEC on the ID project, they could double as a voter cards but the proposal did not materialise as each agency would not budge on control of the billions of shillings that come with tendering for the job.
Besides the high demand for the IDs, The Citizen also learnt that the anticipated stiff competition between CCM and a rejuvenated opposition was also fuelling the desire among eligible voters to get registered. A conspiracy pattern is emerging, with plots and counter-plots among the rivals to have as many as possible of their perceived supporters beat the NEC deadline.
With the mindset that forces are out there to rig the elections at the registration stage, adamant wananchi acting on "a tip-off from well-placed sources" are not ready to let the so-called schemers have it their way, hence the high vigilance by interested parties that is being witnessed.
The general feeling is that this year's polls will be won or lost during the 10 days of registration and no side is taking any chances. Political party agents are on the lookout, discussions and debates are held in groups of "them" and "us" and, in most cases, people know each other by name and political affiliation.
Given the technical hitches and delays on the first day that led to a sorry rate in most registration stations, tensions were very high yesterday. Gongo la Mboto Jica Primary School, a registration centre in Ilala District, yesterday turned into a boxing ring over the right to be registered first. It happened that, like all other centres in the city, a good number of those who missed out on Wednesday were being turned away again yesterday.
In the spirit of "first-come, first-served", they had their names written down. But as they patiently awaited their turn at around 9am, they noticed some people making their way into the registration room ahead of them. The fracas attracted armed officers from the Field Force Unit.
"It is do-or-die for me," said Mr Michael Makini, who was on the carry-forward list from Wednesday that had more than 2,000 names. "They planned to register first but we also did the same."
Mr Rashid Abdallah (57) arrived at the centre at 6am only to find more than 100 people ahead of him. He was put on today's list and yesterday was for those who missed out on Wednesday. "It is the survival of the fittest," he said in reference to the way people were pushing each other in the queue.
The situation was no different at Ulongoni Primary School centre, also in Ilala. Like Gongo la Mboto, it had three BVR kits and only 180 of the more than 2,000 people who turned up on Wednesday were registered. With just three machines, the target was to handle 3,000 people.
According to Mr Mutalemwa Majura, Mtaa Executive Officer for Ulongoni 'A', the centre missed the target on the first day mainly because the kits arrived at noon. Abdallah Omari (24) disagreed with the local official who said the speed was good as one person was served for not more than 10 minutes. Mr Omari challenged this reporter to count the minutes one person spent in the room and, after 25 minutes of waiting, she was still in there.
At Magogoni centre in Temeke, Mr Stephen Almasi took the conspiracy theory to another level, claiming that there were attempts to register more elderly people and lock out the youth as the two groups are generally perceived to hold different political views.
#Kurayakosautiyako
--
Edom H. Mwakimwagile,
A Mere Teacher,
Kinondoni, D'salaam.
In Summary
The majority of Tanzanians apparently view the voter's card as a precious possession with a value beyond the October 25 elections
By Songa wa Songa The Citizen Reporter
Dar es Salaam. The fear of missing out on the ongoing biometric registration of voters scaled up the exercise to a do-or-die affair for Dar es Salaam residents, so much so that they lined-up for hours on end to get the all-important card.
City residents turned up in large numbers for the second day running to beat the July 31 deadline set by the National Electoral Commission (NEC).
The majority of Tanzanians apparently view the voter's card as a precious possession with a value beyond the October 25 General Election.
NEC's announcement that the old cards, which have for years been taken as standard identification for citizenship, will cease to be a valid identity has seemingly fuelled the rush to get a replacement. The huge turnout has been a common feature across the country and NEC has struggled to deliver as its equipment and personnel have been overwhelmed by demand. The situation in Dar es Salaam, with an estimated population of nearly six million, is bound to be worse. And this despite an assurance by the polls body that enough kits would be available.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, nearly three million people in the city are eligible for registration. There were fears that the 10 days allocated to the exercise would not be adequate as technical glitches and incompetence on the part of clerks was slowing down the exercise.
The link between the voters' card and citizen identification was made clear in the 2010 General Election, when more than 20 million people had the old generation cards but only eight million voted. The number has likely shot up with more people attaining the age of 18 and, therefore, qualifying to vote.
Many city residents interviewed admitted that, much as they were keen to take part in the poll, the country still lacked other means to identify its own people.
"The national identity project has not progressed much and not even a quarter of the eligible population has been issued with the national ID card," said Mr Miraji Abadallah, who lined up for more than six hours to get his.
The National Identification Agency (Nida) has reportedly issued slightly over six million IDs and, like NEC, it has been held back by lack of funds to speed up the exercise. If NEC and Nida combined forces with NEC on the ID project, they could double as a voter cards but the proposal did not materialise as each agency would not budge on control of the billions of shillings that come with tendering for the job.
Besides the high demand for the IDs, The Citizen also learnt that the anticipated stiff competition between CCM and a rejuvenated opposition was also fuelling the desire among eligible voters to get registered. A conspiracy pattern is emerging, with plots and counter-plots among the rivals to have as many as possible of their perceived supporters beat the NEC deadline.
With the mindset that forces are out there to rig the elections at the registration stage, adamant wananchi acting on "a tip-off from well-placed sources" are not ready to let the so-called schemers have it their way, hence the high vigilance by interested parties that is being witnessed.
The general feeling is that this year's polls will be won or lost during the 10 days of registration and no side is taking any chances. Political party agents are on the lookout, discussions and debates are held in groups of "them" and "us" and, in most cases, people know each other by name and political affiliation.
Given the technical hitches and delays on the first day that led to a sorry rate in most registration stations, tensions were very high yesterday. Gongo la Mboto Jica Primary School, a registration centre in Ilala District, yesterday turned into a boxing ring over the right to be registered first. It happened that, like all other centres in the city, a good number of those who missed out on Wednesday were being turned away again yesterday.
In the spirit of "first-come, first-served", they had their names written down. But as they patiently awaited their turn at around 9am, they noticed some people making their way into the registration room ahead of them. The fracas attracted armed officers from the Field Force Unit.
"It is do-or-die for me," said Mr Michael Makini, who was on the carry-forward list from Wednesday that had more than 2,000 names. "They planned to register first but we also did the same."
Mr Rashid Abdallah (57) arrived at the centre at 6am only to find more than 100 people ahead of him. He was put on today's list and yesterday was for those who missed out on Wednesday. "It is the survival of the fittest," he said in reference to the way people were pushing each other in the queue.
The situation was no different at Ulongoni Primary School centre, also in Ilala. Like Gongo la Mboto, it had three BVR kits and only 180 of the more than 2,000 people who turned up on Wednesday were registered. With just three machines, the target was to handle 3,000 people.
According to Mr Mutalemwa Majura, Mtaa Executive Officer for Ulongoni 'A', the centre missed the target on the first day mainly because the kits arrived at noon. Abdallah Omari (24) disagreed with the local official who said the speed was good as one person was served for not more than 10 minutes. Mr Omari challenged this reporter to count the minutes one person spent in the room and, after 25 minutes of waiting, she was still in there.
At Magogoni centre in Temeke, Mr Stephen Almasi took the conspiracy theory to another level, claiming that there were attempts to register more elderly people and lock out the youth as the two groups are generally perceived to hold different political views.
#Kurayakosautiyako
--
Edom H. Mwakimwagile,
A Mere Teacher,
Kinondoni, D'salaam.
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