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TANZANIA
OPPOSITION WANTS "EQUAL STATUS" FOR ZANZIBAR
Updated: 27 October 2000
by Kondwani Chirambo
Unguja (ZANZIBAR)-26 October-Three days ahead of sunday's presidential,
parliamentary and local government elections, the opposition Civic United
Front (CUF)on the island of Zanzibar has pledged to push for a three-tier
system of government that would grant the island greater say in its union
with Tanganyika.
Seif Sharriff Hamad, the CUF Leader who is vying for the island's
Presidency
and control of the house of representatives, says his party will demand a
restructuring of the United Republic of Tanzania if elected on October 29.
The largely Islam-backed Party has raised fears of the Isles breaking away
from the union in the event an opposition victory in Zanzibar in what most
observers expect to be a very tight race with the ruling Chama Chama
Pinduzi
(CCM).
While the CCM is heavily favoured to sweep mainland Tanzania, the contest
on
Zanzibar could go either way.
"The Union (with Tanganyika) should be restructured. There must be a
government of Zanzibar and a government of Tanganyika-and a federal
government.Zanzibar, to retain its identity, must have its own flag", Hamad
told jouralists and international observers at a press conference here.
Zanzibar currently elects its own President and a House of Representatives
which has jurisdiction over aspects of the economy ansd social welfare but
not on constitutionally decreed union matters such as foreign affairs,
finance, home affairs and defense.
Constitutionally,a Union President, who has overall jurisdiction, could
come
from either mainland Tanzania or Zanzibar and is elected along with his
Vice
President.
On sunday, some 446, 759 Zanzibaris will be voting for the President of the
United Republic of Tanzania, the President of Zanzibar, their member in the
mainland parliament and their member in the House of Representatives of
Zanzibar. This in addition to electing a local government representative.
Zanzibar has 50 constitutencies, 29 on the main island of Unguja and 21 on
Pemba. The Union Parliament has 232 elective seats.
The Union between Tanganyika and Zanzbar, both ruled by Britain in the
latter periods of colonisation, occurred in April 1964 to form the united
sovereign state now known as Tanzania. The Revolutionary Afro-Shirazi Party
(ASP) earlier led by Sheik Abeid Amani Karume merged with the Tanzania
African National Union (TANU)headed by the late Julius Nyerere in 1977 to
form the CCM.
CUF is now demanding a different formation where Tanzania Mainland and
Zanzibar each have their respective governments subordinated to a central
or
federal structure.
"We have no problem with the union. But we have a problem with the
structure
of the union" , Hamad, who predicts that CUF will win 70 percent of the
Zanzibari vote, said.
Hamad was less than convincing when asked whether the Union would work
should CUF take the Isles and CCM win on the mainland. The post- election
scenario, for many neutrals, is tricky if not dangerous to predict. But CUF
seems to bank on the islands being more than 90 percent moslem, for a major
upset.
An aura of expectation hangs over the Zanzibar and both Amani Karume (Son
of
the late Abeid Karume), the CCM Presidential candidate for the isles, and
Hamad have pledged to accept the results as long the elections are fair and
transparent.
"If all the processes are fair and everybody sees that there is nothing
being hidden; I can tell you that CUF will accept the results which ever
way
it goes", Hamad said adding that the Zanzibar Electoral Commission(ZEC)
had
made assurances that it would try to manage these elections better than it
did the disputed 1995 polls.
In the 1995 elections, the ZEC declared the incumbent President Salman
Amour of CCM the winner with 50.2 percent of the vote. But CUF challenged
the results, accusing the rulng party of rigging the poll. Donors
responded
by suspending aid. Amour has served his constitutional two-terms and is
hence ineligible to run this time around.
Hamad accuses police of harassment of his supporters and the CCM of
deliberately provoking violence in a highly sensitive situation.
CUF on Zanzibar is campaigning around strengthning agriculture, fisheries
and trade-and weeding out corruption.
Hamad accused the CCM government of neglecting education and health and
adoptng a tax regime that encouraged evasion and corruption. Schools were
run-down and the health system in bad shape, he added.
He said Zanzibar used to produce 18,000 tonnes of cloves per year but was
now down to 8000 tonnes. He attributed this to lack of incentives for
farmers and the state monopoly system of purchasing crop. He pledged that
CUF would liberalise the system and create light industries to increase job
opportunties.
Only seven percent of fish were exploited, leaving 93 percent dormant or
surrendered to unchecked international fishermen, Hamad continued. Fruit
farming would be encouraged and trade would be boosted, including the
upgradng of aging harbour facilities to acommodate modern ships.
He said CUF would not seek revenge once in power but would instead uphold
the rule of law and concentrate on economic development.
The Isles will be closely watched by more than 200 observers from the
Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliamentary Forum,the SADC
Electoral Commission's Forum, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the
Commonwealth and the European Union (EU).
Mr Yaori Adodo, the Former Foreign Minister of Togo who is leading an
eight-person OAU Mission to Zanzibar, told journalists today they were
hoping for a clean and trouble-free election.
"There have been minor incidents during the campaign but we are optimistic
both parties will accept the results", he said(SARDC).
This article can be reproduced with credit to SARDC and the author
Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC)
P O Box 5690, Harare Zimbabwe
Tel: (2634) 738694-6 Fax: 738693
Email: sardc@sardc.net
Website: www.sardc.net/sd/elections2000
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