ZANZIBAR, wrote Ryszard Kapuscinski, is a “sad, dark star, a grim address, a cursed isle”. That may seem an odd claim for a place of white sandy beaches beloved of Western honeymooners, but it is not wrong. As well as its history as a slave port, the archipelago off the coast of Tanzania is still burdened with deeply troubled politics.
Elections this week in the rest of Tanzania were fairly peaceful and orderly. As most polling predicted he would, the ruling party’s candidate, John Magufuli, was elected president, albeit with a reduced majority in parliament. But on Zanzibar, the results have been a mess. The islands, which are nominally autonomous, elect their own president and parliament. Just hours after polls closed, the opposition Civic United Front (CUF), which is part of the Ukawa opposition alliance across Tanzania, declared victory. But before the votes were even counted, the head of the Tanzanian election commission annulled the result, alleging that the elections were neither free nor fair. Election commissioners from different parties were accused of starting fist fights; allegations of voter fraud have been flung around. Businesses have been closed for days,...Continue reading
Source: Middle East and Africa http://ift.tt/1kYLmrH
EmoticonEmoticon