Jonathan calls for peace as Tanzanias go to the poll

&NewLine;<p>Jonathan Good luck&comma; former President of Nigeria has urged the people of Tanzania to embrace peace and deepen democracy&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Goodluck Jonathan made this call on Wednesday as <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">Tanzanians <&sol;a>vote in presidential election amid fears of violence&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Analysts say President John Magufuli is likely to win re-election as opposition alleges &OpenCurlyQuote;widespread irregularities’&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Jonathan&comma; who leads the African Union Expert Election Observer Team&comma; visited polling stations in Dar es Salaam&comma; the country’s capital&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>On his Facebook page on Wednesday&comma; Jonathan &nbsp&semi;said&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The African Union Expert Election Observer Team which I lead visited some polling stations in Dar es Salaam this morning as voting got underway in Tanzania’s general elections&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The African Union sees today’s polls as yet another opportunity for Tanzanias to deepen democracy and peace&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>In an earlier statement Jonathan called for peaceful&comma; inclusive and credible polls&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>He urged all stakeholders&comma; political parties and their supporters &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;to participate in the voting process peacefully and to refrain from any acts of violence&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Incumbent President John Magufuli is seeking re-election on the mainland among a crowded field of 15 contenders&period; He is the candidate of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi &lpar;CCM&rpar; party&comma; which has uninterruptedly governed Tanzania – along with its predecessor&comma; the Tanzania African National Union party &lpar;TANU&rpar; – since independence in 1961&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading"><strong>John Magufuli<&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>John Magufuli&comma; 60&comma; is seeking a second and final five-year term in office&period; Opinion polls have been banned&comma; making it difficult to predict the outcome&period; But many analysts see Magufuli as having strong chances of re-election&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The main challenger&comma; Tundu Lissu has been a  staunch critic of Magufuli&period; Tundu Lissu is the candidate for the main opposition party Chadema&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The 52-year-old’s hopes of causing an upset were boosted after his recent endorsement by leaders of the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;washington&lbrack;post&period;com">ACT-Wazalendo party<&sol;a>&period; It has been dubbed as a &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;loose” coalition between the country’s two leading opposition parties&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>In 2017&comma; Lissu survived an assassination attempt in the administrative capital&comma; Dodoma&comma; when he was shot 16 times by unknown attackers&period; He spent nearly three years in exile&comma; first in neighbouring Kenya and then Belgium&comma; where he underwent more than a dozen surgeries&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>A lawyer by training and a fan of reggae music&comma; Lissu entered politics in 2010&period; He won a parliamentary seat to represent his home region of Singida East&period; Over the years&comma; he developed a strong reputation as a fierce government critic and became the chief whip of Chadema&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Other presidential challengers include former Foreign Minister Bernard Membe and economist-turned-politician Ibrahim Lipumba&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;