Dar es Salaam, 07 November, 2024 / 5:10 pm (ACI Africa).
Archbishop Jude Thaddaeus Ruwa’ichi of Tanzania’s Catholic Archdiocese of Dar-es-Salaam has called for integrity in the voting process, urging that only eligible citizens be allowed to vote and that each vote cast be a “legitimate vote.”
The nationwide poll scheduled for November 27 is for the election of leaders at the village, sub-village, and neighborhood levels within district and municipal authorities in the East African country.
In his message ahead of the elections, Archbishop Ruwa’ichi emphasized the need for legitimate votes, referring to reports of registration of the underage as voters and previous complaints of invalid votes in the past elections.
“It is our prayer that, when it comes to choosing local government leaders, citizens eligible to vote will be given the opportunity to cast legitimate votes,” the Archbishop said in his message published on Thursday, November 7.
He added, “I say ‘legitimate votes’ because there have been complaints in the past that elections were conducted, yet those chosen were not elected through valid votes. This does not benefit our country, our society, or our development.”