Why Zanzibar Referendum Outcome Left CCM More Bruised

Zanzibar made history last Saturday by overwhelmingly endorsing constitutional changes in a referendum that will pave the way for the formation of a government of national unity later this year.

Such a government will be the first ever in the country since the armed revolution that rooted out the Arab Sultan rulers in the early sixties, and also in the modern times following the introduction of multiparty politics in Tanzania in 1992.


The momentous verdict was issued by 188,705 voters who participated in the exercise at 66.4 per cent against 95,613 at 33.6 per cent of those who were not in favour of the outcome that will now significantly alter the way politics is played in Zanzibar.

Political leaders, representatives of the donor community and even the common man on the streets have immediately welcomed the referendum outcome, with a majority saying it would finally guarantee peace and tranquillity in the Isles that had hitherto remained perilous every election year.

But as the dust settles, different interest groups will take stock of what transpired on the campaign trail and what the final result would mean for their role in the future of Zanzibar. Some are not entirely ruling out new political realignments prior to and after the October 31 General Election.


"It was a positive vote for unity by the people but as observers we could not fail to notice that deep antagonism, mainly within the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi remained," explained Dr Benson Bana, the Chairman of Tanzania Election Monitoring Committee and also head of the University of Dar es Salaam's Research for Democracy and Education in Tanzania (Redet).

That voters on Pemba Island regions gave an emphatic 'Yes' vote and are still the more enthusiastic of the new political order than their colleagues in Unguja Island may have not been entirely surprising. As in the past elections, Pemba has tended to vote for the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) to the last man standing and in the referendum sided with their leaders who campaigned for 'Yes'.

The opposition's supremacy in the referendum results showed that the people of Mtambwe District in North Pemba Region, the home town of Mr Seif Hamad, the CUF leader, had the highest Yes votes, with 95.1 per cent of the 5324 people who cast their votes. Mr Hamad is CUF's secretary general and will run for the presidency under the party in the October 31 general election.

"The people in Pemba voted the way they did because they know this was their only chance to end decades long feeling of alienation from government. They are the ones who have suffered more and paid the huge cost of a system of winner takes all despite the fact that polling results divided Zanzibar into two, almost equal parts," said businessman Said Mohammed said.

Mr Hamad has already been nominated by his party to run for the Presidency in what would be his fourth attempt. Having served as Chief Minister in the CCM government, the opposition leader has not shied from admitting that deliberately skewed government planning have consigned Pemba to poverty due to past political rivalry.

For the sake of this huge constituency, Mr Hamad, who alongside President Amani Abeid Karume engineered the final and significant push for reconciliation and tagged alongside the President to campaign for 'Yes', was at hand to welcome the victory last Saturday.

He declared; "This is a win for Zanzibar, its people and the united republic of Tanzania." President Karume whose extra energy to drive through the vote was pleased with the voters who have given him what political commentators say would be one of his presidency's most important legacy.

While this task is almost done, the remaining few days could prove trickier if divisions within CCM that played out ahead of the referendum are anything to go by. In Zanzibar today, it was expected that Karume could after all now have reason to whip those in CCM's inner circles and in government who gave lukewarm support for the referendum.

A District Commissioner in the seat of government was last week sent packing in a move linked more to his remarks critical of the government's campaigning for a 'Yes' vote. "I will not be surprised if that did happen but what is dangerous for CCM will be what kind of realignments that could follow if he was to sack ministers in the last days in office," a senior party official who requested to remain anonymous said.

All Africa

Hamad Masauni aibuka kidedea Kikwajuni

Aliyekuwa Mwenyekiti wa Umoja wa Vijana CCM, Hamad Masauni Yusuf, ameshinda katika kura za kugombea nafasi ya ubunge kwa tiketi ya CCM katika jimbo la Kikwajuni kwa kura 990.

Hamad ameweza kumshinda Naib Katibu Mkuu wa CCM Saleh Ramadhani Feruzi ambae aliweza kupata kura 155 na kushika nafasi ya tatu chini ya Ahmed Mohamed aliyepata kura 511.

Zanzibar ni Mseto

Matokeo rasmi ya kura ya maoni juu ya serikali ya umoja wa kitaifa yametolewa. Kura za ndio ni 188,705 na kura za hapana ni 95,613. Hii inamaanisha kuwa serikali ijayo ya itakuwa ni ya umoja wa kitaifa.

Zanzibar votes to install unity government

Zanzibar, Tanzania - Tanzania's politically volatile Zanzibar island votes in a referendum Saturday to install a power-sharing government aimed at ending the archipelago's persistent election unrest.

The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM - Revolutionary party) and the main opposition Civic United Front (CUF) are backing the deal and have called on voters to endorse it.

A new form of government would see Zanzibar have a president with two deputies. The first vice president would be from the party which comes second in the polls and the second from the winning party.

Ministers are to be allocated on a proportional basis.

If passed, Zanzibar's constitution will then be amended to pave the way for a unity government in readiness for general elections on October 31.


"Vote 'yes' in the referendum so that we remain united. We need to work together and heal hatred caused by unnecessary political conflicts after every general election," Zanzibar President Amani Karume told a gathering this week.

"Zanzibaris should not allow a return to division," CUF leader Seif Sharif Hamad told AFP.

"We need to build our country which has been ruined by the prolonged conflicts. I hope that the majority people of Zanzibar will vote 'yes'."

A positive outcome of the July 31 referendum will propel Zanzibar to the league of African governments to have negotiated power-sharing accords in the aftermath of disputed elections.

It will however be set apart from Kenya and Zimbabwe by making the deal a constitutional provision ahead of its next elections.

The Indian Ocean archipelago comprises three islands of Unguja, Pemba and Mafia. Mafia is however administered by mainland Tanzania.

Zanzibar declared independence on January 12, 1964 after a bloody revolution that ended several centuries of rule by Arab sultans.

Three months later, it merged with mainland Tanganyika to form the United Republic of Tanzania, but maintained a semi-autonomous government with its own president, constitution, flag and national anthem.

Rivalry between the CCM and CUF has been bitter and at times bloody since the re-introduction of multi-party politics in 1992.

The CCM has won all subsequent elections in 1995, 2000 and 2005, sparking protests by the opposition, which repeatedly charged that results were rigged in favour of the ruling party.

At least 30 people were killed in January 2001 during clashes between police and supporters of CUF in Zanzibar and Pemba. Dozens of Pemba residents fled to Kenya.

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete deplored the perennial enmity between the Zanzibar parties, which he said had also divided the society.

"People of the same island and even clan stopped talking to each other," he recently told parliament.

"CCM or CUF members failed to turn out at funerals of relatives who belonged to a different party. This is too bad. I am pleased that things are now changing for the better."

Some 400,000 voters have been registered to take part in Saturday's referendum, whose results are to be announced two days later. Observers from the European Union and the US will monitor the exercise.

Zanzibar, an idyllic travel destination with palm fringed beaches and historic sites, is home to around 1.2 million people.


AFP