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News & Comment
Wave of Oppositions Defection in Tanzania
News
In recent months, media outlets have been reporting on a high wave of defections, where a number of opposition politicians quit their parties and joined ruling party (CCM). The latest is a defection of Chadema Party MP from among prominent city constituency, a high level Civic United Front (CUF) leader, and other opposition MPs and Councilors where all announced to step down from oppositions and joining the ruling party (CCM).
Comment
This scenario unveils the reality that democratic political parties and their politicians are just merely for their personal interests and not serving the public unlike on what they always preach in deceiving the masses, since these defections have left supporters and their previous parties in disarray.
This political exodus comes at a time in which the government has banned political rallies and conducts wide spread arrests of a number of opposition figures persecuting them for either holding public rallies “without a permission” or “defaming” the President of the republic. It is an assumption that hard times like this at which the masses expect these opposition leaders to be firm and speak out; unfortunately, they are leaving with unconvincing arguments joining the ruling party, and in most cases defected MPs and other elected figures such as Counciller’s stand to re-contest in a similar constituency with a different political party. Many explained this as a being ‘sellout’ motivated by a personal interests.
On other hand, this political exodus from the opposition to the ruling party have strengthened the impression of many that the current CCM’s leadership is hell bent to “destroy” the opposition, where it incurs huge costs to its accomplishment including offers of re-election of defectors on CCM ticket. Not to mention allegations of bribing opposition figures in the process, where last year, one of Chadema Officials submitted footage of bribe dealing to Prevention of Corruption Bureau as evidence but the agency dismissed his plea.
The defections are followed by by-elections which costs a lot from public funds. For instance, the by-election of three constituencies and six wards that took place early this year spent about Tsh 3.1 billion and much more to come since defection is still going on. This unnecessary extravagancy spending of public funds would have helped many unemployed youth who are in need of a petty capital to set up small businesses. Furthermore, they could have been allocated to fund public services, such as health services, where reports show that even preventable and treatable diseases, such as malaria, pneumonia and diarrhea caused the death of 270 children under 5 years of age every day. There is wide socio-economic and geographical disparities in child mortality, largely due to inequalities in access to, and use of, health services.
This is the reality of democratic political parties in Tanzania and elsewhere, relying on nepotism, tribalism and above all built on personal gains, since democracy is merely a system of gaining and attaining more and more benefits by any means whether by treachery, murder, lying etc.
For Muslims we have to work hard in replacing it by the fair and just system of Islam under its state of Khilafah Rashidah (rightly guided Caliphate), while non-Muslims should engage in studying Islam as an alternative ideology, since capitalism and communism both have proved failure.
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Said Bitomwa
Member of the Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Tanzania