By AMINA WAKO

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Zitto Kabwe, the ACT-Wazalendo party leader, spoke with AMINA WAKO on the need for a new constitutional order in Tanzania

What do you make of this week’s meeting between President Samia Suluhu and Chadema leader Tundu Lissu?

It is an important step towards restoration of democracy in Tanzania. The meeting could reconstruct our politics and usher in reforms.

Your party, ACT-Wazalendo, finds itself at a crossroads, whereby it is part of the government through Zanzibar’s Government of National Unity, while in Tanzania Mainland it has to play the role of an opposition party. How are you managing your supporters’ expectations?

It is challenging. One, because Tanzania has no experience on coalitions. I find many countries with coalition governments performing well. In Germany, where there is a coalition of three parties — SPD, FDP and The Greens — there are states where these same parties are in opposition of one another. So, in Zanzibar, we are in the GNU. But some people have built a narrative that we are in GNU even here in the Mainland, which is not true.

We have formed a shadow Cabinet on the Mainland to oversee checks and balances on the government. We have selected some of our members to act as spokespersons in various sectors. Post-2020 elections, Tanzania became virtually a one-party state. We will continue to play the role of the opposition outside parliament until a true democratic parliament is restored, hopefully post-2025.

There have been several overtures by President Samia to opposition parties, with meetings being on the cards. Would you attend such meetings? What is your take on President Samia’s rapprochement?

Our party’s position is clear: We will engage the authorities to ensure democracy is brought back into the country. We will never put conditions for meetings. Our priority is enactment of the new political parties’ legislation to create an enabling environment for parties to operate freely, and enactment of the new elections legislation to ensure free, fair and credible elections. To achieve these, we must engage. I am a member of the task force that was formed by the Council of Political Parties to seek the reforms. In it, there is consensus on issues of political parties’ law and an independent electoral commission.

The recent political debate on debt and eventual resignation of parliamentary Speaker Bob Ndugai caught the Tanzania political players by surprise. What is your take on this, having in mind that Mr Ndugai was a thorn in the flesh of opposition leaders in parliament, only to be pushed out by the same government he was in bed with?

I took this as an internal CCM matter and I desist from engaging in that debate. It was not about debt at all.

You have been a prominent advocate of a new Constitution. Do you believe Tanzania is ready for this debate and push?

The constitutional debate is healthy for the country and Tanzanians have been ready for long. There is a proposed Constitution in the country already, which awaits a referendum. But it is controversial as a large section of the population prefers what is called the Warioba Draft, a draft by the Constitutional Review Commission. Therefore, we have somewhere to start. However, as the ACT-Wazalendo party, our position is that we need an independent election management body first so that we get a proper people-based Constitution.

It’s almost a year since President Samia took over power, and the heat on opposition parties seems to have cooled down. Is this a good thing for the Tanzania political space?

It is positive, but we need more space. For example, parties need to be allowed to conduct public rallies, and more media freedom.

Do you believe the new political dispensation will offer free space for other parties to compete favourably?

This is what we fight for with the call for an independent election commission. The current parliament has no mandate from the people of this country.