SEHEMU YA TANO
UCHAGUZI MKUU WA MWAKA 2000 ZANZIBAR.
Baada ya Uchaguzi wa 1995, hali ya kisiasa Zanzibar ilikuwa tete sana Wanachama wa cuf na viongozi 18 walikamatwa mwishoni mwa 1997 na mwanzoni mwa1998 na kufunguliwa kesi ya uhaini ya kutaka kuipindua serikali ya Zanzibar.
Kati ya hao waliokamatwa ni pamoja na Mzee Machano Khamisi Ali, Juma Duni Haji, Hamadi Rashid Mohamed, Hamadi Masoud Hamadi, Nassor Seif Amour, Hamad Mmanga, Bi Zulekha Ahmed Mohamed, na Bi Zeina Juma Mohamed.
Mwaka 1999 na 2000 nilijitahidi kwenda kuwatazama watuhumiwa wakiwa Mahabusu kila Zanzibar.
Pamoja na muafaka wa CCM na CUF uliofikiwa chini ya upatanishi wa Jumuiya ya Madola, na kuwekwa saini Juni 1999, Mzee Machano na wenzake hawakuachiwa kwa kisingizio kuwa hilo ni suala la kuamuliwa na Mahakama,mara tu
baada ya Uchaguzi Mkuu wa mwaka 2000 waaliachiwa huru.
Katika hukumu yake,Jaji Agostino Ramadhan alieleza kuwa washitakiwa hawawezi kufanya kosa la uhaini wa kupindua serikali kwa kuwa Zanzibar haikuwa dola huru (Sovereign State) inayoweza kupinduliwa.
Katika kipindi chote hicho tangu baada ya Uchaguzi wa 1995 Maalim Seif aliishi zaidi Dar es Salaam, makazi yake yakiwa Hoteli ya Star Light. Hata hivyo alifanya ziara za mara kwa mara Pemba na Unguja, kuhamasisha umma.
Ndani ya CCM kulikuwa na mvutano. Dr Salmin Amour alitaka agombee tena Urais. Mara ya kwanza alichaguliwa kuwa Rais mwaka 1990 wakati wa mfumo wa Chama kimoja.
Katika mfumo wa Vyama vingi alikuwa amekuwa Rais kwa kipindi kimoja tu. Kwa sababu hiyo aliona ana haki ya kugombea kipindi cha pili. CCM na Mwalimu Nyerere walipinga wazo la Dr Salmin kugombea mara ya tatu, kwa hoja kwamba ilikuwa ni uvunjaji wa Katiba. Dr Salmin aliukejeli msimamo wa Mwalimu Nyerere kwa kusema “Hakuna cha Baba wa Taifa, wala Babu wa Taifa.” Aliyekuwa Makamu wa Rais wa Jamhuri ya Muungano, Dr Omari Ali Juma, naye alimpiga kijembe Dr Salmin kwa kusema: “usisubiri mpaka upigwe mawe ndiyo ujue hupendwi.”
Hatimaye CCM waliweza kumdhibiti Dr Salmin Amour na kumzuia kupata fursa ya kugombea Urais kwa mara ya tatu.
Kwa mujibu wa katiba ya CCM utaratibu wa kumteua Mgombea wa Urais wa Zanzibar unaanza kwa Kamati Maalum ya Halmashauri Kuu ya Taifa ya CCM, Zanzibar “Kufikiria na kutoa mapendekezo yake kwa Kamati Kuu ya Halmashauri Kuu ya Taifa ya chama hicho, juu ya Wanachama wanaoomba nafasi ya Rais wa Zanzibar.” Uteuzi wa mwisho unafanywa na Halmashauri Kuu ya Taifa ya CCM inapokutana mjini Dodoma.
Kwa kuzingatia utaratibu waluojiwekea, katika kura za maoni CCM Zanzibar walimchagua Dr Mohamed Gharib Bilal, aliyekuwa Waziri Kiongozi wa Dr Salmin, kwa zaidi ya theluthi mbili ya kura zote, kuwa Mgombea Urais kwa tiketi ya CCM. Amani Abeid Karume ambaye hatimaye alikuja kuwa Mgombea wa Urais wa Zanzibar alikuwa mtu wa tatu. Alipata kura kiduchu, chini ya asilimia 13 ya kura zilizopigwa.
Pamoja na CCM Zanzibar kupiga kura za kumkataa Karume, Halmashauri Kuu ya CCM mjini Dodoma ilimteua kuwa Mgombea wa CCM. Wana CCM wa bara ndiyo waliomteua Amani Karume kuwa Mgombea Urais wa Zanzibar. Dr Salmin alinuna, hakufurahia uteuzi huo. Maalim Seif alikuwa na nafasi nzuri ya kushinda Uchaguzi Mkuu wa 2000. Wakati Amani Karume hakuwa chaguo la wana CCM wa Zanzibar, Maalim Seif aliaminiwa na hata baadhi ya wana CCM kuwa ni mtetezi wa Wazanzibari.
Hata hivyo baadhi ya viongozi wa CCM waliendelea kutoa kauli kabla ya uchaguzi kwamba hawatatoa utawala kwa vipande vya karatasi. Katika mikutano yake ya kampeni Zanzibar, Rais Mkapa aliyekuwa mgombea wa Urais wa Jamhuri ya Muungano, alitamka hadharani kuwa hayuko tayari kukabidhi serikali kwa chama kisichokuwa na asili ya Afro-Shirazi na TANU!
Maana ya kauli hii ilikuwa, bila kujali matakwa ya Wazanzibari walio wengi, viongozi wa CCM wangeendelea kubakia madarakani kwa sababu CCM ndio iliyokuwa na asili ya ASP na TANU.
Chama cha CUF kilifanya kampeni za kusisimua. Nilishiriki kwenye uzinduzi wa kampeni kumnadi Maalim Seif. Nilieleza nilivyokutana na Maalim msikitini Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam, na uwezo wake mkubwa kitaaluma na uelewa wa mambo.
Nakumbuka Ismail Jussa kuniambia kuwa nilikuwa nimemnadi vizuri sana Maalim Seif, kuliko hata walivyofanya Wazanzibari. Ismail Jussa na aliyekuwa Meneja wa Kampeni, mheshimiwa Awadhi, pia walifanya kazi nzuri ya kumuelezea Maalim Seif kwa Wazanzibari.
Mwaka 2000 tulikuwa na mtandao mzuri wa Chama Zanzibar yote na uwezo wa kulinda kura zetu.
Uchaguzi wa Zanzibar na ule wa Jamhuri ya Muungano ulifanyika siku moja; tarehe 29 Oktoba 2000. Baada ya CCM kuona inashindwa vibaya polisi waliamriwa wachukue masanduku ya kura kwa nguvu.
Utekelezaji wa zoezi hilo ulivuruga kabisa uchaguzi. Ili kuwatisha wananchi polisi walifanya ukatili mkubwa mitaani na kwenye makaazi ya watu.
Timu za Watazamaji wa Ndani na wa Kimataifa wa Uchaguzi wa Zanzibar, zilishauri uchaguzi wa Zanzibar ufutwe na uchaguzi mpya ufanyike baada ya kuifanyia marekebisho Tume ya Uchaguzi ya Zanzibar.
Jumuiya ya Madola ambayo ilikuwa mpatanishi wa CCM na CUF baada ya Uchaguzi wa 1995 ilituma timu nzito ya watazamaji wa uchaguzi iliyoongozwa na Dr. Gaositwe Chiepe, ambaye alipata kuwa Waziri wa Mambo ya Nje wa Botswana.
Katika barua yake kwa Katibu Mkuu wa Jumuiya ya Madola kuwasilisha Taarifa ya Watazamaji Dr. Chiepe alieleza:-
“ in our view, on the evidence of polling day, these elections should be held again, in their entirety, but not until the existing election management machinery has been reformed from top to bottom. .…
"It was a cause of great sadness to us that we had to come to such a conclusion. We would have been overjoyed should the Zanzibar Electoral Commission have been able to rise to the occasion. As it was, either because of incompetence or a deliberate wrecking attempt – we are still not sure which – this election fell far short of minimum standards.”
Kwa tafsiri isiyo rasmi, maelezo ya Dr Chiepe yalikuwa kama ifuatavyo:
“Kwa maoni yetu, kwa kuzingatia ushahidi tuliouona siku ya kupiga kura, Uchaguzi wote urudiwe, lakini iwe ni baada ya kuifanyia marekebisho Taasisi inayosimamia Uchaguzi toka juu mpaka chini. .. “Tunasikitishwa sana kufikia hitimisho hilo. Tungefurahi sana kama Tume ya Uchaguzi ya Zanzibar ingeweza kusimamia uchaguzi ipasavyo. Hata hivyo haikuwa hivyo. Ama kwa kukosa uwezo, au kwa sababu za maksudi za kuvuruga – hatuna uhakika ni lipi – uchaguzi huu umeshindwa kufikia viwango vya chini kabisa.”
Taarifa ya Jumuiya ya Madola ilihitimisha:-
“The people of Zanzibar turned out in large numbers to vote in their second multi-party democratic elections since independence, waiting in long queues for hours and generally remaining peaceful and orderly. We commend them for their extraordinary patience, maturity and dignity.
Unfortunately, the conduct of the elections fell far short of minimum standards. The failure to deliver ballot papers, which prevented some stations from opening until very late and disrupted voting even at those which had opened, was so serious that it led to the cancellation of the election in 16 constituencies, representing more than 40 % of the registered voters, and the suspension of election operations and removal of ballot boxes in the other 34 constituencies.
"The cause was either deliberate manipulation or gross incompetence. Since their announcement ZEC have themselves indicated that there might have been other, possibly very serious shortcomings, which are being investigated by the police.
"The Group believes that only a properly conducted and fresh poll, throughout Zanzibar, undertaken by a Commission reformed in line with international good practice, with its independence guaranteed in both law and practice, and a restructured and professional Secretariat, can create confidence in and give credibility to Zanzibar’s democracy.”
Kwa tafsiri isiyo rasmi ripoti ya Jumuiya ya Madola ilihitimisha kama ifuatavyo:
“Wananchi wa Zanzibar walijitokeza kwa wingi kupiga kura katika Uchaguzi wa pili wa Vyama vingi tangu kupata uhuru. Walisubiri kwenye mistari mirefu kwa saa nyingi kwa amani na utulivu.
Tunawapongeza kwa ustahamilivu wao, ukomavu wao na heshima yao.
“Kwa bahati mbaya, uendeshaji wa uchaguzi haukufikia hata viwango vya chini kabisa. Karatasi za kupigia kura hazikufikishwa kwa wakati na kusababisha baadhi ya vituo vya kupigia kura kuchelewa sana kufunguliwa, na kuvuruga upigaji kura katika vituo vilivyofunguliwa.
‘Kasoro hizi zilikuwa nyingi na kusababisha Tume kufuta Uchaguzi wa majimbo 16 yenye zaidi ya asilimia 40 ya wapiga kura walioandikishwa, na kusitisha shughuli za uchaguzi na kuondoa masanduku ya kura katika mjimbo mengine 34. Sababu ya matukio haya zilikuwa ni ama za maksudi, au kutokana kukosa uwezo kabisa wa kuendesha uchaguzi. Tume ya Uchaguzi ya Zanzibar imedokeza kuwepo kwa matatizo makubwa yanayochunguzwa na polisi.
"Watazamaji wote wa uchaguzi wanaamini kuwa Zanzibar yote inapaswa kuwa na uchaguzi mpya, utakaosimamiwa na Tume iliyofanyiwa marekebisho, yenye uwezo wa kusimamia uchaguzi kwa viwango vinavyokubalika kimataifa. Tume iwe huru kisheria na kwa vitendo; na iwe na Sekretariati yenye uwezo na weledi ili kurejesha imani, na kuipa uhalali demokrasia ya Zanzibar.”
Watazamaji wa uchaguzi wa ndani TEMCO, walikuwa na msimamo kama ule wa Watazamajiwa Jumuiya ya Madola.
Taarifa yao ya awali ilieleza:-
“TEMCO observers were able to monitor the campaigns, voting and vote counting in some parts of Zanzibar. The eagerness of the Zanzibar people to cast their votes on October 29, 2000 was unprecedented; most polling stations or centers were full of anxious voters by 6.00 am or earlier, and most of them remained in their queues for as long as it took for the election officials to get ready. … This showed that the ordinary people of Zanzibar are on the side of democracy.
“However, considering the events that took place on Sunday 29th and Monday 30th October, 2000, we can not but conclude that those state instruments responsible for managing the elections in Zanzibar have let down the people and the multi party democracy which we are trying to nurture in Tanzania and Africa.
“We note with concern that all …important and delicate decisions have been made by ZEC without consultation with the main stakeholders, namely the contending parties. True, ZEC has the legal authority to postpone or cancel an election, to set a new date for a cancelled election, and to make a temporary stoppage of the vote counting process. However, some legal requirements have been violated by ZEC action, for example the participating parties, candidates and their agents have been denied their legal rights to ensure that the ballots remain secure until the votes are counted. In the case of Pemba, ballot boxes were forcibly seized by police against the will of the party agents and sent to district ZEC offices which are inaccessible to party agents.
"On Monday 30th October 2000 a most shameful episode took place at Darajani area in Zanzibar. A state force consisting of ordinary police, state security people, the special field force unit (FFU), etc, descended on a group of CUF supporters who were peacefully singing songs of praise to their party and leaders following a press statement by the CUF Zanzibar Presidential candidate, Mr. Seif Shariff Hamad.
"These CUF supporters – men and women, young and old – were beaten up most mercilessly and handled in a manner which, to an observer, would suggest that the state instruments of law and order were carrying out a vengeance rather than performing ordinary arrests.
"Looking at the election process as a whole, from registration of voters to the Sunday 29th voting fiasco in the Urban West Region and other parts of the Isles; and considering the degree of distrust of state authorities (ZEC, police, state media, and the Salmin Amour administration as a whole) which currently exists in Zanzibar, TEMCO believes that the solution is to cancel the elections in Zanzibar in totality and to organize fresh elections. This would also provide an opportunity to review the weaknesses of the state instruments involved in the electoral process, to involve the political parties more closely in decision-making, and to begin a process of national healing and reconciliation. A rush solution may create more problems than it solves.”
Kwa tafsiri isiyo rasmi taarifa ya TEMCO ilikuwa kama ifuatavyo:-
“Watazamaji wa TEMCO walifuatilia kampeni, upigaji kura na kuhesabu kura maeneo mbalimbali ya Zanzibar. Kulikuwa na hamasa kubwa ambayo haijapata kutokea ya wananchi wa Zanzibar kujitokeza kupiga kura tarehe 29 Oktoba 2000.
"Wananchi wengi walikuwa kwenye vituo vya kupiga kura tangu saa 12 asubuhi au mapema zaidi. Walisubiri kwenye mistari ya wapiga kura kwa muda mrefu mpaka wasimamizi wa uchaguzi walipokamilisha taratibu. Hii inaonyesja jinsi wananchi wa Zanzibar wanavyounga mkono demokrasia.
"Hata hivyo ukizingatia matukio ya jumapili tarehe 29 na Jumatatu tarehe 30 Oktoba 2000, hatuna jinsi zaidi ya kufikia hitimisho kuwa vyombo vya dola vilivyopewa jukumu la kusimamia uchaguzi Zanzibar vimewaangusha wananchi, na demokrasia ya vyama vingi tunayojaribu kuijenga Tanzania na Afrika.
“Tumeshuhudia kwa masikitiko maamuzi yote nyeti yaliyoamuliwa na ZEC bila kuwashirikisha wadau wakuu ambao ni vyama vinavyoshindana katika Uchaguzi. Ni kweli ZEC ina mamlaka ya kisheria ya kuahirisha au kufuta uchaguzi, kupanga tarehe mpya ya uchaguzi uliofutwa, na kusimamisha kwa muda mchakato wa kuhesabu kura.
“Hata hivyo ZEC imekiuka taratibu za kisheria. Kwa mfano, Vyama vya siasa vinavyoshiriki kwenye Uchaguzi, wagombea na mawakala wao wamenyimwa haki ya kuhakikisha kuwa kura zilizopigwa zinakuwa salama mpaka zitakapohesabiwa.
"Kisiwani Pemba, Polisi walichukua kwa nguvu masanduku ya kura bila mawakala kuridhia na kuyapeleka ofisi za wilaya za ZEC ambako mawakala wa vyama hawawezi kuyafikia na kuyaona.
“Jumatatu ya tarehe 30 Oktoba, tukio la aibu sana lilitokea eneo la Darajani, Zanzibar. Vikosi vya dola wakiwemo polisi wa kawaida, Usalama wa Taifa, na FFU waliwavamia na kuwapiga vibaya wanachama na wapenzi wa CUF waliokuwa wanaimba kwa amani nyimbo za Chama na kuwasifia viongozi wao, baada ya Mgombea wa Urais wa CUF, Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad kuzungumza na waandishi wa habari.
'Kwa mtazamaji wa kawaida, vitendo vya vyombo vya dola vilikuwa vya kulipiza kisasi na sio vya ukamataji wa kawaida wa wananchi wanaotuhumiwa kufanya makosa.
“Ukiutazama kwa ujumla mchakato wa Uchaguzi, toka uandikishaji wa wapiga kura mpaka sintofahamu iliyojitokeza kwenye uchaguzi wa tarehe 29 Oktoba katika Mkoa wa Mjini Magharibi na maeneo mengine ya Zanzibar; na ukizingatia kutoaminika kwa hali ya juu kwa mamlaka za dola (ZEC, polisi. Vyombo vya habari vya serikali, na Utawala wa Salmin Amour kwa ujumla wake), TEMCO inaamini kuwa suluhisho ni kufuta Uchaguzi wote wa Zanzibar na kuandaa uchaguzi mpya.
"Utaratibu huu utatoa fursa ya kutathmini udhaifu wa vyombo vya dola vinavyosimamia uchaguzi, kushirikisha vyama vya siasa kwa karibu katika maamuzi na kuanza mchakato wa kuponya majeraha na kuleta maridhiano ya kitaifa. Kutafuta ufumbuzi wa haraka kutasababisha matatizo makubwa zaidi.”
Chama chetu kilikubaliana na ushauri wa watazamaji wa Jumuiya ya Madola na TEMCO wa kufutwa uchaguzi wote; na kuandaliwa uchaguzi mpya ambao ungesimamiwa na Tume Huru ya Uchaguzi.
Serikali ya Mapinduzi ya Zanzibar na CCM waliupuuza ushauri huo. ZEC ilitangaza kurudiwa uchaguzi katika majimbo 16 ya Mkoa wa Mjini Magharibi siku ya tarehe 5, Novemba 2000.
Chama cha CUF kilikataa kushiriki katika Uchaguzi huo kwa sababu matokeo yangekuwa ya kupanga, hasa ukizingatia kuwa masanduku ya kura ya majimbo 34 yalikuwa mikononi mwa Tume bila chama chetu kujua kilichokuwa kinafanyika kwenye masanduku hayo.
ZEC ilidhihirisha wazi haina uwezo wa kusimamia uchaguzi huru na wa haki.
Baada ya uchaguzi wa Novemba 5, 2000 bila haya CCM walijitangazia ushindi wa kishindo. Haukuwa ushindi wa kishindo bali ulikuwa wizi wa kishindo.