AfricaPress-Tanzania: TANZANIA has just concluded the general election a few days ago that saw Dr John Magufuli reelected to hold the presidency of the United Republic of Tanzania for the next five years.
The President-elect will be sworn in Dodoma on Thursday.
This was the 6th quinquennial election in the country since Tanzania adopted a multiparty democracy system in 1992.
It is through this unique opportunity that Tanzanians used their constitutional right to vote for the leaders they trust they will turn their dreams into reality – that is they will bring about development.
The conclusion of this year’s general election marks the beginning of another important period of driving the country’s development towards improving people’s living standards.
It’s time to turn away from our differences and embrace peace and unity and remain focused on the development agenda that will ultimately result in building robust economic growth.
We should now identify and embrace what unites us and avoid what divides us in terms of politics, religion and ethnicity.
Tanzania differs markedly from the majority of African countries especially during elections and on issues related to peace and security.
It cultivates a culture of civic peace that contrasts with other African countries’ politics where ethnicity or religious animosities divide their people who instead of uniting turn against each other and cause political conflict and violence.
In Tanzania, discrimination on the basis of their nationality, tribe, place of origin, political opinion, colour, religion, sex or station in life such that certain categories of people are regarded as weak or inferior and are subjected to restrictions or conditions whereas persons of other categories are treated differently has no place.
Maintaining and protecting peace and security in the country is the task of every Tanzanian and law-abiding citizen.
Statistics show that more than 1.5 billion people live in countries affected by political violence, with the gap between the countries enjoying relative peace and those afflicted by conflict continuing to widen.
From an economic perspective, the Global Peace Index says the cost of conflicts to the global economy last year was $13.7 trillion as a result of increased military spending by states and more people driven from their jobs.
We should avoid falling into the trap of putting our beloved country into unnecessary chaos by fulfilling the interests of few greedy politicians.
Tanzanians have made a bold decision through ballot papers to elect the leaders of their choice and who they are sure will take the development agenda to the next level.
