Mkapa vows fair Tanzania poll

2005-10-11 21:32

Dar es Salaam - Outgoing Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa has vowed to maintain security and stability as well as ensure the October elections are fair amid violence on the politically volatile island of Zanzibar.

"My government wants to ensure free and fair elections and I hope all contenders and their supporters will respect the laws and legitimate instructions of the electoral commissions," Mkapa told visiting Danish Prime Minister Anders Rasmussen.

"In this way, no voter will be deterred from voting and they will do so without intimidation. In other words, I look forward to free and fair elections."

Mkapa, who is constitutionally barred from a third term and will be retiring after the October 30 general elections, spoke as the campaign for the polls heated up, particularly on semi-autonomous Zanzibar, which will elect its own president and parliament.

Danish PM calls for peaceful poll

Fresh incidents of violence were reported in the volatile island of Zanzibar at the weekend when which 18 people were injured and 24 charged Monday with violence-related electoral offences.

Rasmussen urged rival parties in the east African nation to ensure the campaigns are peaceful.

"Denmark puts strong emphasis on a transparent electoral process.

"I have been informed about the incidents that occured in Zanzibar (at the weekend). I find it regrettable," said Rasmussen, who is on a three-day visit to Tanzania.

Unlike the mainland, Zanzibar, where the main opposition party commands its greatest support, has been rocked by deadly election-related clashes.

Tensions running high

After Tanzania's 2000 elections - the second multiparty polls since political pluralism was restored in 1992 - about 40 people were killed in violence between opposition and ruling party supporters on Zanzibar.

Tensions are now running high on the island as the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM - Revolutionary Party) and opposition Civic United Front (CUF) vie for control with accusations of pre-balloting malfeasance flying.

The majority of the mainland's 70 million people are Christian while about 98% of the one million people living in Zanzibar are Muslim.

- AFP