AU hails Zanzibar for polls

2005-10-31 13:48

Zanzibar - The African Union (AU) on Monday praised the conduct of weekend polls on Tanzania's volatile island, despite fraud allegations and sporadic violence in which at least seven people were wounded.

Baleka Mbeta head of AU's observer mission for Zanzibar said Sunday's polls had been relatively peaceful and well organised, but would not say whether the pan-African body believed they had been free and fair.

She said: "Largely the elections went well", praising the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) for its work.

Mbeta said: "Notwithstanding any organisational and logistical difficulties in some areas, the AU observer mission wishes to seize this opportunity to congratulate ZEC for a well-organised and executed elections."

Electoral process

She praised the main competing parties - the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM - Revolutionary Party) and the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) - for "mature contestation and the people of Zanzibar for their responsible and largely peaceful participation in the electoral process."

But, she noted that no AU observers had been posted in the Zanzibar capital of Stone Town, where several clashes between CUF supporters and allegedly bogus CCM voters were reported and police at one stage fired shots and teargas to disperse and angry crowd.

According to a doctor, at least seven people were injured in the violence, two by bullets and five by machetes or sticks.

Voters on the semi-autonomous islands were electing a president, parliament legislators and local representatives.

CUF presidential candidate Seif Sharif Hamad claimed late on Sunday to be well ahead in the balloting.

According to figures compiled by the CUF, Hamad secured 61.3% of the votes against 37.6% for Karume, with 13% of votes counted. Half a million people were eligible to vote.

- AFP