by Bayano Valy in Zanzibar – SANF 05 no 91
Local elections in Zanzibar are to proceed despite the postponement of national elections in the United Republic of Tanzania, and President Benjamin Mkapa has urged Zanzibaris to vote peacefully.
The National Election Commission (NEC) delayed the Union elections from 30 October until 18 December, as stipulated in the electoral law, due to the death on Thursday of one of the candidates.
Jumbe Rajab Jumbe, 65, who died in hospital in Dar es Salaam, was the running mate of the presidential candidate Freeman Mbowe of Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema).
Chadema has until 18 November to submit the name of a new running mate for Mbowe, and another month to campaign ahead of the rescheduled poll.
But Zanzibar enjoys an autonomous status in some matters not related to the Union. Thus the Zanzibar Election Commission (ZEC) has decided to go ahead as planned with elections on the two islands, Unguja and Pemba, to choose the Zanzibari president, members of the House of Representatives and local councillors.
Speaking on Friday on the main island of Unguja, in what was his valedictory speech before he retires, Mkapa called on the islanders to eschew violence and flock to the polls in a peaceful manner.
Since the introduction of multi-party politics by the founding president, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, polls on the mainland have been generally stable, but at times fraught with tension in Zanzibar.
Violence has flared in the past after the main opposition party, the Civic United Front (CUF), disputed the popular verdict which gave victory to the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and its Zanzibari candidate, President Amani Abeid Karume.
The run up to this Sunday’s election saw some violence between supporters of CUF and CCM. Thus, the Tanzania Peoples Defence Forces (TPDF) has been deployed on the islands, comprising both islanders and mainlanders.
Mkapa said this shows that government places peace and security as a priority, and that it was important before, during and after the election to ensure the security of the population.
“The government is making every effort to keep peace and tranquillity,” he said, warning Zanzibaris to be aware of hatred politics.
The measures taken so far do guarantee that the elections will be free and fair, he said.
Mkapa reminded Zanzibaris of the role played by the late Mwalimu Nyerere and Sheikh Abeid Karume, the father of the incumbent Zanzibari president.
They were the two leaders who in 1964 founded the Union from a marriage between Tanganyika, as the mainland was then known, and Zanzibar. Some influential Zanzibaris opposed this move, mainly those of Arab extraction who during the years of British mandate were the minority rulers over the majority population of African descent.
It has been claimed during the campaign, and refuted, that CUF and its presidential candidate, Seif Shariff Hamad, would like to return Zanzibar’s Africans to slavery.
Meanwhile, religious leaders in their Moslem afternoon prayers on Friday urged the faithful to create a peaceful atmosphere as a religious as well as social duty, and after voting go home rather than milling about as this might fuel further tension.
Zanzibar islanders will thus have three ballot papers to mark with a cross on the candidate of their choice. One ballot paper will be for the President of Zanzibar, another for the members of the House of Representatives, and finally the local councillors.
Initially they would have used five ballot papers: for the President of the Union; members of the Union parliament, the Bunge; President of Zanzibar; members of the House of Representatives of Zanzibar; and local councillors.
It is expected that the electorate on the two main islands that make up Zanzibar, that is, Unguja and Pemba, will turn out massively on 30 October.
ZEC has also said that all conditions are in place for free and fair elections.
However, CUF has alleged that there were problems with double registration of voters, and said that there were quite a number of snags that could render Sunday’s election not free, fair and transparent.
However, Hamad said that CUF would not boycott the poll and added confidently that, “I expect Zanzibaris will vote me into power. I expect to get 58 to 62 percent or more for victory.”
He acknowledged that the massive presence of troops would help to keep peace throughout the elections, but said he doubted whether they would be impartial in discharging their duties.
Zanzibar elections are deemed to be too close to call. However, judging by the elections of 2000 Hamad’s claims could be seen as political bravado not least because the CCM government on the islands has significantly improved the living conditions of most Zanzibaris, and Karume has promised continuity.
