US wants Zanzibar vote probed

2005-11-02 09:58

Washington - The United States on Tuesday called on Zanzibar authorities to investigate allegations of irregularities in the vote in the semi-autonomous Tanzanian archipelago.

"We would encourage the government to investigate any accusations of irregularities in a thorough and transparent manner," said state department spokesperson Sean McCormack.

"But I would note, in terms of the overall direction in the running of elections and the execution of these elections, we have seen a considerable improvement over the last set of elections they had," he said.

At least one person was killed and dozens injured in daily violence in Zanzibar since Sunday's vote.

But monitors from the African Union, the Commonwealth, the South African Development Community and the US all noted progress in the election process over previous years.

Concerns over voting

On Tuesday, observers from the Washington-based National Democratic Institute expressed concern about apparently bogus voters casting ballots at some polling stations, and the use of "excessive force" by police.

But they stressed that these would not necessarily distort the will of the electorate.

The state department spokesperson said the Zanzibar electoral commission and international monitors were still investigating "potential irregularities".

"We're going to wait to see what their findings are in terms of what happened and what they have to say about these irregularities before we have any final opinions on the elections," said McCormack.

As fighting between police and opposition supporters continued for a third straight day, election officials said incumbent President Amani Abeid Karume had narrowly won re-election over his main challenger, Seif Sharif Hamad, in Sunday's election.

- AFP