Why Zanzibar holds new Katiba to ransom

A member of the Constituent Assembly casts her vote yesterday. Members are free to vote by way of a secret or an open ballot. PHOTO | EDWIN MJWAHUZI 

By  Athuman Mtulya ,The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

According to available details, there are total of 629 MCAs, with 412 coming from the Mainland and 217 from the Isles. To secure a two-third vote from Zanzibar needs 145 “Yes” votes are needed.

Dodoma. Call it a number game or the tyranny of numbers, but Members of Constituent Assembly (MCAs) from Zanzibar are the ones who hold the key to the final Draft of the proposed Constitution, The Citizen can report today.

For the Draft to sail through, irrespective of whether all MCAs from Mainland vote “Yes”, the document needs to also secure a two-third “Yes” from Zanzibar MCAs—a daunting task indeed.

Alarmed by the naysayers yesterday, CA chairman Samuel Sitta formed what analysts dubbed a “rescue team” to bail out the document, which is on the brink of rejection. It is not clear whether Mr Sitta and Andrew Chenge—the unlikely ally of the former National Assembly speaker—were aware of the direction the Zanzibar MCAs would vote.

But the writing was on the wall after Zanzibar’s Attorney General Othman Masoud Othman boycotted the process.

Eight MCAs from Zanzibar have voted “No” to the draft of the Draft that has 19 chapters—casting doubt over whether the required two-thirds would be attained. On Monday, when the voting started, 41 MCAs opted for the secret ballot: 11 from the Mainland; 30 from Zanzibar.

According to available details, there are total of 629 MCAs, with 412 coming from the Mainland and 217 from the Isles. To secure a two-third vote from Zanzibar needs 145 “Yes” votes are needed.

But, to reject the proposed document, the naysayers from Zanzibar need just 72 votes.

Yesterday, those who voted to reject the document were reportedly threatened by colleagues, casting doubt on whether the process will be fair and objective.

The Citizen couldn’t independently verify whether there were indeed threats directed to the naysayers.

“There is a pressing issue in front of us, some members have rejected all chapters and sections, and this was not expected given all the hard work we all did to prepare the Draft; I have formed a nine- member consultation team that will talk to them, and the good thing is that two of them have requested to talk to the team,” said CA chairman Samuel Sitta.

Section 54 (4) of the CA Standing Orders says the chairman, after consultations with the steering committee, can form a consultations committee any time when a need arises.

The committee is chaired by deputy CA chair, Ms Samia Suluhu Hassan and other members include chairman of Drafts Committee Andrew Chenge, Minister for Constitutional Affairs Dr Asha-Rose Migiro, Zanzibar Minister for Finance Omar Yusuf Mzee and Minister in Second Vice Presidents Office Aboud Mohammed Aboud