The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
Alfred Mlangila
24 October 2008
opinion
A few weeks ago, US Republican presidential candidate John McCain chose to concentrate on negative campaigns to slow down his challenger Barack Obama who was leading by more than 5 points in the opinion polls.
Led by running mate Sarah Palin, the McCain camp launched personal attacks on Obama, accusing him of "palling around with terrorists" while some supporters suggested that Obama should be killed.
Obama was specifically accused of associating with William Ayers, a person regarded as a domestic terrorist responsible for masterminding bomb attacks about 40 years ago.
However, McCain was surprised to find out that the attacks only helped to increase the gap between him and Obama by more than 10 points. The CBS poll then suggested that McCain was lagging 14 points behind Obama.
It became clear that negative campaigns had the potential of delighting supporters but they frequently alienate independent voters and those who believe in issues.
On his part, Obama was cool and responded to each allegation transparently. For example, he explained that he once served on an education board with William Ayers but so did some of the leading Bush allies and important Republican figures.
Soon after responding to personal attacks, Obama would quickly turn to the pressing issues in America including the current financial crisis, the deteriorating education sector, housing schemes, health sector, taxation and, of course, unemployment.
One of the things that have shocked America is the extent of discrimination in the country. Religious and racial sentiments have only served to reinforce the belief that prejudice is still deep-rooted in the minds of most Americans.
It must be noted that religious and racial sentiments are tool that can be used to tear apart the fabric of society. That is why some Americans are identifying themselves with candidates of their religion and colour.
Tanzanian politicians ought to avoid the use of such tags in elections or else the unity and peace we have been boasting about may soon melt like an ice cube does in hot water.
The US campaigns have taught Tanzanians that debates are a very useful instrument in gauging the ability of candidates. Tanzania once organised a presidential debate in 1995 but the habit was thereafter discouraged.
The debates provide the people with an opportunity to weigh the candidates as they respond to questions on important issues. The occasion also parades the aura and persona of candidates as the whole nation watches.
The American campaigns have also taught us that it is important for candidates to read the signs of where the people want to proceed. In the last eight years America has been through a lot.
The country has experienced "war" on its own grounds in the name of the September 11 attacks, it has been involved in unnecessary wars in Iraq, its name abroad has been tainted and it is now experiencing financial crisis that may turn into an economic recession.
The signals show that American people yearn for change. In such circumstance a person who sells himself as messiah-like personality capable of bringing change will carry the day. That is what the American opinion polls are trying to say.
Unlike the media in Tanzania, which takes pride in glorifying candidates and their trumpet blowers, in the US the press digs dipper into the qualities and history of those seeking leadership position and their allies.
For example, the media in America has been able to reveal Obama's inexperience in foreign policies, what he had voted for in Congress in the past and what he had failed to do.
A lot of money has been poured into the American election. For example in September 2008 alone, Senator Obama raised $150 million and by end of October he was expected to surpass the $650 million total spent by President George Bush and Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 elections.
This tells that money is a big factor in the US elections and there are indicators that elections favour the rich. In Tanzania we have the same problem.
It has been documented that a candidate for the post of ward councilor spends between Sh5-10 million in an election while the candidate for the position of Member of Parliament spends between Sh60-100 million.
Now a legislator gets a monthly income of about one million shillings and another million shillings as constituency allowance. How on earth can such legislator pay back the Sh100 million he borrowed from businessmen?
Unlike in the US, Tanzania does not have stringent laws on financing elections. As a result, candidates take money from businesspersons on promises that they would offer them contracts after winning elections.
This fuels big time corruption and bad governance. In a small economy like Tanzania, embezzlement of millions of dollars may lead to high money circulation and inflation.
Tanzania will have its general elections about two years from now. We need to amend our laws and the electoral system to enable us have a fair election.
Mr Mlangila is a social and political commentator based in Dar es Salaam.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Citizen. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
