Shinyanga — The political debate around Chadema’s campaign slogan “No Reforms, No Election” has taken a new twist, as the ruling party CCM says the real opposition to the idea is coming from inside Chadema itself not from the government.
On Friday, during a public meeting in Shinyanga, CCM’s Secretary for Ideology and Publicity, Amos Makalla, responded to statements made earlier by Chadema Secretary General John Mnyika.
Mnyika had accused the government of using state systems to weaken Chadema and create fake opposition parties to replace it.
“These are political battles being fought by those in power against our call for reforms,” Mnyika said during the opening of Chadema’s Central Committee meeting. “But with strong leadership, we will win.”
Makalla strongly disagreed, saying that the campaign for “No Reforms, No Election” is being rejected by Chadema members themselves.
“Mnyika should stop lying. This idea was first rejected by Chadema’s own members, especially the G55 group who want to run for parliament,” Makalla said.
“Other political parties and even regular citizens who want to vote have also disagreed with it. The government is not to blame this disagreement is happening inside Chadema.”he added
Makalla is currently touring the Shinyanga region and used the opportunity to criticize what he called false claims by the opposition.
Meanwhile, Chadema Vice Chairman (Mainland), John Heche, defended the party, saying it remains strong despite a few members leaving.
“In the Central Committee, only one person left that’s just 2%. In the National Council, out of 456 members, only 20 left. And in the General Assembly, just 34 out of 1,194 members left, which is only 4%,” Heche explained.
But Makalla disagreed again, saying the strength of a party is measured by its members, not just leaders. He claimed that more and more people are leaving Chadema every day.
The disagreement between Chadema and CCM shows how serious the debate around election reforms has become, with both sides preparing for a key political battle ahead of the next general elections.
Source Mwananchi