Former President Jonathan To Lead Commonwealth Observers From 33 Countries For Tanzania 25 General Election

Nigeria Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan will lead the Commonwealth observer mission at Tanzania’s October 25 General Election.

The observers will come from 33 countries of Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific.

Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Yahya Simba, announced this in Dar es Salaam yesterday at a meeting jointly organised by the UN and the government on the former’s 70th anniversary next week.

While former Nigerian president Jonathan will lead the Commonwealth observers’ team, Amb Simba said, former Mozambican president Armando Guebuza will lead the African Union (AU) observers.

PANA AR is reporting that according to Ambassador Simba he called on Tanzanians to exercise their rights and adhere to the rule of law to ensure peace and stability throughout the election period; “There is no development without peace and no peace without development. Therefore, every citizen has a role to play to ensure that peace reigns to ensure Tanzania continues to be a prosperous nation,” he emphasized.

According to the ministry, the AU and the Commonwealth will deploy about 600 monitors for the general elections due to be held 25 Oct. 2015.

Other observers are due to come from the European Union (EU), the Southern African Development Community, the US and the UK.

Though Britain and Finland are part of the EU, they will also have independent observers at the polls.