AUTHORITIES in Zanzibar have trashed claims by the opposition party, ACT-Wazalendo, that the ongoing issuance of ZanIDs to all eligible residents is done unfairly.
The Zanzibar Civil Status Registration Agency (ZCSRA) started issuing the IDs in North Pemba on December 15, this year, but ACTWazalendo says only few out of the many eligible people, mainly the youth, received it during the fiveday exercise.
The agency has planned to issue the IDs in all districts of Zanzibar before a voter registration exercise to be conducted by the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) starting from January 18, 2020.
Dr Hussein Khamis Shaaban, the Managing Director (MD) of ZCSRA, which operates under the Ministry of State in the President’s Office (Regional Administration, Local Government and Special Department) informed the ‘Daily News’ that there was neither cheating nor unfairness.
“We have no plans to cheat in favour of the ruling party. We will ensure all eligible Tanzanians in Zanzibar get the IDs before voter register update starts,” he explained.
Dr Hussein noted that the new technology for Zanzibari Smart IDs would also improve registration and issuance of certificates (for birth, death, marriage and divorce) because it was also the duty of ZCSRA established last year.
The MD added that the smart ID card, which was embedded with biometric features, was an ingenious technology solution that the government had adopted to further raise service delivery levels in all sectors and also make tracking possible, as each person would remain unique and identifiable individual.
“It seems this is a plan to leave out voters in areas considered to be the opposition stronghold.
It is a disappointment. We ask ZCSRA to ensure it prints and distributes IDs to all registered people, including the youth.
We also ask ZEC to postpone the January 18, 2020 date for the updating of the voter register because many will still have no IDs by that time,” claimed Mr Said Ali Mbarouk, Coordinating Officer of ACT-Wazalendo.
Mr Mbarouk also pointed an accusing finger at the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) that the mismatch of the IDs and registered people was a plan to help CCM to easily win the next general election.
In response, Zanzibar CCM leaders: Dr Abdalla Juma Saadalla Mabodi – Deputy Secretary General and Ms Catherine Peter Nao – Ideology and Publicity Secretary dismissed the claims as baseless and untrue.
“They are the same people who complained in the 2015 general election after losing.
They have started complaining to win sympathy for fear of our landslide victory.
Why to complain now when the IDs issuance exercise has just started?” queried Ms Nao, adding that all eligible residents of Zanzibar would be given new mandatory smart identity cards integrated with biometrics.
