Zanzibar. Opposition leader Seif Shariff Hamad yesterday said he was drafting a list of his Cabinet ministers so that they start working as soon as he is declared the duly elected President of Zanzibar.
“I have no doubt in my mind that I’m the President-elect and only waiting to be sworn in,” said Mr Hamad, adding that he was currently putting together a line-up of ministers so that he could get down to serving the people once he is sworn in.
Mr Hamad said the government he was working on includes members from CCM as provided for in the amendment of Zanzibar Constitution that introduced the Government of National Unity in 2010.
He was addressing a meeting of Civic United Front (CUF) officials from all levels called to brief them of the developments since the surprise annulment of the election results last month.
“I want to assure you that CUF won the elections and the ruling party defeated now all that remains is for me to be announced officially and sworn into office so that we can together build our nation,” Hamad who is the First Vice President in the outgoing government told the cheering officials.
The CUF supremo said he did not have any objection of working together with CCM as the law requires, challenging President Ali Mohammed Shein to gracefully concede defeat and name anyone else he wanted to work as his (Mr Hamad’s) deputy if he did not want to occupy that position.
“I honestly do not know what our colleagues in CCM fear because we have won 27 seats in the House of Representatives as they have. We will have the same number of cabinet ministers and lead the country together,” he said.
According to him, “the whole world knows who was elected president by the people of Zanzibar” and told the party’s officials to disregard “propaganda being peddled by CCM for a repeat election.”
Mr Hamad said there was no reason to repeat the elections as winners in all the levels were declared without any hitch. “What remains now is for the election authority to finalise the tallies for the presidency and declare the winner,” he said.
And speaking yesterday for the first time on accusations that he declared himself the winner of the October 25 election before the Zanzibar Electoral Commission Chairman Jecha Duni Jecha annulled the outcome, Mr Hamad said he would be ready to defend his stance in court.
“What I said was that ZEC ought to declare me as the winner because I won fairly. What is the problem in stating the obvious? I am ready to go to court and defend my position if anyone feels aggrieved,” he said.
