AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE National Electoral Commission (NEC) says it has no plan whatsoever to put up polling stations at prison centres countrywide to enable inmates to cast their votes during the October 28 general election.
NEC Legal Department Head Fausta Mahenge said currently, the law did not allow prisoners to exercise their right to vote for leaders of their choice.
She was speaking during a one-day meeting with stakeholders, whereas NEC convened a meeting for voter education with clerics, people with disabilities, the media, the youth and faith-based organisations, among others.
According to Ms Mahenge, there is no arrangement to take inmates to polling centres. “According to the law, those allowed to cast votes are inmates serving a sentence of not more than six months. If it happens an inmate has finished serving a sentence of not more than six months before the election date that he/she can go ahead and vote provided that they are registered in the voter register,’’ she clarified.
At a stakeholders’ meeting, NEC Vice Chairman Judge (rtd) Mbarouk Salum Mbarouk promised that Tanzania would conduct free, fair, transparent and credible elections.
According to Judge Mbarouk, NEC is well-prepared to supervise this year’s election by fulfilling the requirements of the Constitution of United Republic of Tanzania, Regulations and all important guidelines. He insisted that all stakeholders should play their part so that citizens could exercise their constitutional right to vote for the leaders they wanted.
“NEC wants to assure all voters with special needs like disability groups, pregnant women and those with babies, sick persons and elders that we have already directed our officials at all polling stations to give them priority when they arrive at their stations.
For those who cannot read and write, they will be allowed to go to polling stations with the people they trust, who will help them cast their votes, and this time, we will have tactile ballot folders for visually impaired persons,’’ he said.
Judge Mbarouk further used an occasion to ask all candidates vying for various positions to abide by laws, rules and regulations guiding electoral processes as well as avoiding unethical acts during campaigns.
“As NEC continues coordination and the supervision of electoral processes, by considering the Election Act, political parties, their candidates and members of the public are hereby advised to remember that during this period, other laws of the country are still operating.
Therefore, they should avoid any acts or inflammatory statements that are likely to cause the breach of the peace,’’ he stressed. NEC is currently rolling out a countrywide voter education programme expected to be completed tomorrow, according to Director of Information and Voter Education, Giveness Aswile.
