BBC News
Elections in Zanzibar have been annulled for not being free and fair, the electoral chief on the Tanzanian archipelago has announced.
Rows between rival electoral commissioners had led to physical fights, Jecha Salum Jecha said.
The majority of his other criticisms were levelled at Pemba island, including an accusation of vote tampering.
Tanzanians voted in local and national elections on Sunday.
The elections in Tanzania are the most competitive in the country's history, with four opposition parties forming the Ukawa coalition to challenge the ruling CCM's 54-year grip on power.
Ukawa's national presidential candidate Edward Lowassa said discrepancies in Zanzibar's local elections could be mirrored in the national vote.
Earlier, he called for the national electoral commission to stop releasing results, alleging the whole process nationwide had been marred by fraud.
He urged his supporters to remain calm and not to engage in street protests.
Previous elections have turned violent on Zanzibar, which is made up of the islands of Unguja and Pemba.
'Agents ejected from polling stations'
In his statement, Mr Jecha accused Zanzibari electoral commissioners of being partisan.
More votes had been cast in some areas than the registered number of voters, especially in Pemba, where some party agents had been ejected from polling stations, Mr Jecha said.
It is unclear if and when new elections for the president and parliament of the archipelago will be held.
Analysis: Sammy Awami, BBC News, Zanzibar:
Never before has an election in Zanzibar - a popular tourist destination - been scrapped. So we are entering uncharted waters.
And yet, this election - unlike previous ones - has not been marred by riots and violence.
There was, however, some tension, which led to the closure of roads and businesses.
On Monday, the main opposition candidate for the post of Zanzibar president, Maalim Seif Sharrif Hamad, declared himself the winner.
His announcement attracted sharp rebuke from the governing CCM party, which called it illegal and a threat to the archipelago's stability.
But life was returning to normal when the archipelago's electoral commission chairman made the shock announcement that he was scrapping the poll because it was full of gross irregularities.
At that point results from only 18 of the 54 constituencies have been released.
Tanzania's tightly contested election:
- CCM was formed in 1977 from a merger of two post-colonial parties and has effectively been in power since independence in 1961.
- It has fielded Works Minister John Magufuli, 55, as its presidential candidate.
- He is being challenged by Edward Lowassa, 62, who quit CCM after he failed to win its presidential nomination.
- He is contesting the poll under the banner of the Ukawa coalition.
No comments:
Post a Comment