Tanzania, Jan. 31 -- Dodoma. The use of district executive directors as returning officers in their respective districts resurfaced in Parliament yesterday when a House committee expressed disagreement with the government on the matter.

The parliament began debating three bills introduced last November that propose reforms to the electoral system.

The bill on Presidential, Members of Parliament and Councillors' Elections maintains that the district, municipal and township executive directors will be the returning officers in their respective areas despite resistance from the opposition parties, which argue that the presidential appointees cannot be neutral.

Presenting its report on the bills, the Parliament's Governance, Constitution a...