Jakaya kikwete called religious leaders

President Jakaya Kikwete has called upon religious leaders to help the nation uphold the prevailing peace during and after the General Election scheduled for October this year. He sounded the reminding call in Dar es Salaam while marking the second anniversary on the investiture of Pope Francis’ papacy - the ceremony held at Archbishop Padilla’s residence in the city at the weekend. The event was organised by the Vatican Ambassador to Tanzania and also attended by Archbishop Polycarp Cardinal Pengo. According to Kikwete, he took power at the time when the country was well decorated with peace, security and tranquility and as his office tenure ends, he is optimistic, his successor will also inherit the same. "Every five years, Tanzanians vote in quest for citizenry consent to pick their head. Handover of power in Tanzania has been a matter of peace and we have remained a bright example in Africa to allow a peaceful handover.” Through this procedure, the president said: “I will end my tenure as a leader and delegate power to the new president. It is my great hope that you will work well with the new leader to maintain peace and social stability as we have partnered … I believe that the Catholic Church will help to ensure that our electoral process and the handover of leadership are peaceful.” Lauding the Catholic Church for devoted cooperation with the government in providing social services in various developments including health sector, President Kikwete he said the church and the government are institutions taken care of by humans, sometimes misunderstandings remains obvious. They happen and extinguish - but the relationship between the two is still stronger. President Kikwete seized the opportunity to bid his farewell to the heads of the Catholic Church, stressing that he is leaving the country in peace and stability. He says the country is now experiencing economic and social transformation which has never been recorded in its history. "I would also like to emphasise that no human being is perfect. For those who I wronged, you should understand the limits of human potential. We all mistake. I have tried to the best of my ability, and I am sure that my successor will promote the good work that I have done in the last 10 years,” he said. Adding; “I have devoted much of my time to develop and strengthen relations between the government and the Church.” However, he explained that the two years of Pope Francis, have brought a world with new hope, a new message of peace, respect for the rule of law, peace and stability. "His message about the many global challenges, including that of climate, has added a very strong voice on how our world is being managed." The President’s call came as the National Electoral Commission (NEC) announced in May this year the election schedule whereby campaigns for the General Election will be conducted over the course of 67 days starting from August 22 to October 24, a day before the voting begins. “The list of candidates vying for Presidential, Parliamentary and Councillorship seats is to be submitted to NEC on August 21 before the campaigns start the following day - on August 22,” reads a media statement signed by NEC Chairman (rtd) Justice Damian Lubuva. “NEC would like to inform political parties and the citizenry in general that the released election schedule is as per Articles 35 B (1), (3) (a), 37 (10 (a) and 46 (1) of the National Election Act, Chapter 343,” Judge Lubuva detailed. Lubuva said according to the Election Act, the candidates are to start campaigning immediately after being nominated and the campaign schedule is to run for not less than 60 days and not more than 90 days. The announcement by NEC comes a day after several political parties opened their doors for eligible cadres who want to vie for presidency, parliamentary and councillorship to collect their forms.