Tanzania’s opposition party Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) has endorsed president Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election bid, branding National Super Alliance (NASA) presidential candidate Raila Odinga as a traitor.
Speaking at the party’s council meeting over the weekend, Chadema’s chairman Freeman Mbowe said that the party had unanimously resolved to back President Kenyatta’s re-election in the August general elections.
He said that the party’s assessment was that President Kenyatta is a better choice for democracy in Kenya and is the right candidate for the presidency.
The party accused Raila Odinga of betraying them by supporting their rival in the 2015 general elections, even after they supported his bid in the 2007 elections. “We supported Odinga during the 2013 elections in Kenya but to our surprise, when it came to the 2015 polls in Tanzania, he supported the CCM candidate, John Magufuli. Odinga is a traitor,’’ said Mbowe.
The endorsement by Chadema brings a new twist to the upcoming contest after the National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale earlier claimed that Odinga was setting up a tallying center in Tanzania with the help of Magufuli’s government.
Chadema presidential candidate Edward Lowassa lost in the race for the top job in 2015 President, John Pombe Magufuli.
