No April referendum after empty promises

National Electoral Commission chairman Damian Lubuva announces in Dar es Salaam yesterday the postponement of the April 30 referendum on the Proposed Constitution.  PHOTO | CORRESPONDENT 

By  Mkinga Mkinga,The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

• Finally, the electoral commission admits there won’t be a Katiba vote as earlier planned
• NEC chairman Damian Lubuva said yesterday that the decision to reschedule the referendum was due to the slow progress in registration of an estimated 23 million voters using the new biometric technology

Dar es Salaam. The National Electoral Commission (NEC) has called off the referendum on the Proposed Constitution scheduled for April 30. A new date is to be announced at a later date.

The NEC chairman, Justice Damian Lubuva, said here yesterday that the decision to reschedule the referendum was due to the slow progress in registration of an estimated 23 million voters using the new biometric technology. “I’m delighted to announce that the proposed constitution referendum exercise has been cancelled until further notice,” he said. 

The spotlight will now be on registering voters, with NEC setting a new date in consultation with the Zanzibar Electoral Commission.

The announcement at a packed press conference ends growing anxiety as to whether the government would be in a position to push through the vote for the new Katiba in April despite clear signs that the preparations were grossly inadequate.

The new development highlights a denial mentality within government and the electoral body despite the evidence of inadequate preparations after the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) exercise suffered a major setback owing to lack of funds to buy kits in time to mount a credible national exercise.

On Wednesday, Parliament was thrown into disarray after opposition MPs disrupted the morning session demanding that the government issues a comprehensive statement. The MPs felt the government was not giving the voter registration the attention it deserved and warned that any failing in the exercise could plunge the country into a crisis during the October General Election. 

The government then admitted that the much-awaited referendum could not go on as scheduled on April 30. Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda told the National Assembly later that NEC would give direction on the way forward.

Outside Parliament, pressure mounted on the government and NEC to call off the referendum, with civil society groups and repected community leaders pleading that the vote be suspended until after the 2015 General Election to make room for efforts to forge a national consensus.   Opposition leaders instead want minimal electoral reforms to facilitate the General Election.  Yesterday, Judge Lubuva was at pains to defend President Jakaya Kikwete’s decision to set the referendum date. He said the Head of State was within his rights to do so, but the law  is clear that it is NEC that has the mandate to announce the referendum date.    

Judge Lubuva was flanked at the press conference by Director of Elections Julius Mallaba, Deputy Chairman Hamid Mahmoud Hamid, Commissioners, Prof Amon Challigha and Justice John Mkwawa.

Updating the voters’ register was crucial, he said, and progress in the BVR exercise in Njombe had shown that NEC could not cover the entire country in the remaining days.

But the real reason for the lethargy in registration has been lack of funds to procure BVR kits, with just 250 out of the expected 7,750 having been delivered. NEC has been in Njombe since last month but less than 250,000 voters have been registered there. 

Judge Lubuva revealed yesterday that the government had released $72 million to enable NEC pay for the supply of the 8,000 kits to help push the registration to completion by July. About 250 BVR kits are expected in the next two weeks, followed by a consignment of 1,150 in May.