Tanzania Speaker orders Zanzibar MPs out for heckling

Parliament in session in Dodoma. PHOTO | FILE  NATION MEDIA GROUP

By Erick Kabendera, The EastAfrican

In Summary

• The Opposition booed as leaders from Zanzibar entered the the assembly chanting “Maalim Seif, Maalif Seif” referring to CUF presidential candidate for the Zanzibar.
• The results were annulled after Mr Seif claimed victory. The jeers continued even after President Magufuli entered Parliamen

Tanzania House speaker Job Ndugai has ordered Zanzibar politicians to leave Parliament after they heckled top leaders who were arriving for President John Pombe Magufuli inaugural address of the 11th parliament.

The Opposition booed as leaders from Zanzibar entered the the assembly chanting “Maalim Seif, Maalif Seif” referring to CUF presidential candidate for the Zanzibar.

The results were annulled after Mr Seif claimed victory. The jeers continued even after President Magufuli entered Parliament.

Speaker Ndugai warned MPs to keep quite three times and then ordered them to leave the House. Earlier, Opposition MP Tundu Lissu said in Parliament that according to the Zanzibari Constitution the term for Zanzibar President Ali Mohammed Shein ended with the election and he should not have attended the assembly.

During his address first address to Parliament, President Magufuli said Tanzanians who had elected MPs to represent them in Parliament didn’t like to see a House that is a mockery rather than working to resolve the problem of the people.

President Magufuli said the challenges facing the country required all MPs regardless of their political affiliations to unite in order to meet people’s expectations.

“Parliament is an important vehicle in the development of the country. The challenges ahead of us are many and people have a lot of expectations. The people want to see the country developing to the next level. After five years, all of us will face tests. I felt that it was important to talk about this because I was once an MP for 20 years. People want to get water and schools in their respective areas. If we walk out of parliament, we will not be assisting people who sent us here,” President Magufuli said.