Zanzibar's new presidential polls set for March 20
Opposition presidential candidate and secretary general of the Civic United Front Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad holds a press conference after the semi-autonomous Zanzibar archipelago annulled elections held on October 28, 2015. Zanzibar presidential elections results were annulled, sparking tension on the islands. The elections will be repeated on March 20, 2016. PHOTO | TONY KARUMBA | AFP
What you need to know:
- Zanzibar’s election commission said on Friday new presidential polls for Tanzania’s semi-autonomous islands will be held on March 20.
- The October 25 elections were scrapped after Zanzibar Election Commission reported “violations of electoral law”, claims dismissed by the opposition.
- Mr Seif Sharif Hamad of the opposition Civic United Front declared himself the winner before the results were officially announced.
ZANZIBAR
Zanzibar’s election commission said on Friday new presidential polls for Tanzania’s semi-autonomous islands will be held on March 20, after last year’s were scrapped for alleged irregularities.
“Preparations for the fresh elections are going on. I appeal for patience, and the observation of election laws,” Zanzibar Election Commission (ZEC) Chairman Mr Jecha Salim Jecha said in a statement after announcing the date of the rerun. Security was boosted on the Indian Ocean archipelago before the announcement, an AFP reporter on the main island said.
Zanzibar has experienced sectarian and political tensions in recent years — including recent grenade explosions — with the unrest affecting the islands’ key tourist industry.
ELECTIONS SCRAPPED
The October 25 elections were scrapped after ZEC reported “violations of electoral law”, claims dismissed by the opposition.
The annulment came after a key candidate, Mr Seif Sharif Hamad of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF), declared himself the winner before the results were officially announced.
CUF spokesman Mr Nassor Mazrui on Friday criticised the new polls and said the party would meet to deliberate if they would take part.
“It is an unfair move,” Mazrui said. “We oppose fresh polls, but since they have forced it, we have to meet and review our position.”
