Zanzibar scraps SA voter firm
2005-08-15 12:57
Zanzibar, Tanzania - Zanzibar has suspended the contract of a South African company hired to check over the archipelago's first permanent voter roll, the Zanzibar Electoral Commission spokesperson said on Monday.
The government cited procedural problems, but the move has political ramifications.
Developing a voter toll and having an independent organisation check it were part of an agreement the government and Tanzania's main opposition party, the Civic United Front, reached to ease tensions after violence and allegations of vote-rigging marred the last elections in 2000.
Civic United Front officials were not immediately available for comment.
South African firm Waymark Infotech was hired by the Zanzibar Electoral Commission to cross-check the voter roll after the commission incorporated corrections made by voters, spokesperson Idrissa Jecha said.
He said that the Zanzibar government said it suspended Waymark Infotech's contract on Friday because the commission had not followed the right procedure in awarding it.
Jecha said the suspension would not affect the election process. It was not immediately clear whether the election commission would try to revive the contract or seek another way to ensure independent verification.
On October 30, residents of the Zanzibar archipelago will elect a regional president and new representatives to the 59-member regional parliament.
Tanzanians will also vote for a new president and representatives to the 332-member national parliament.
Zanzibar, which united with Tanganyika in 1964 after a violent upheaval to form the United Republic of Tanzania, retains some autonomy, with its own president and legislature.
- AP