Category Archives: Zanzibar

CUF DOMINATES IN FREE AND FAIR BY-ELECTIONS IN PEMBA

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CCM REMAINS DOMINANT ON THE MAINLAND
By-elections for 36 seats in the National Assembly and the Zanzibar House of Representatives on May 18 gave some very clear indications as to the present strength of the two main political parties in Tanzania and what might happen in the next general elections due in 2005.

By winning comfortably in four by-elections on the mainland the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party indicated that it is still in command of the political scene. The opposition is still way behind in popular support. President Mkapa retains his popularity and many will be sorry to see him go when his second term ends in 2005. He cannot stand for a third term.

But in the Zanzibar island of Pemba the results were spectacular. Voters overwhelmingly demonstrated their support for Tanzania’s main opposition party, the Civic United Front (CUF). The Commonwealth Observer team, whose predecessors in the general election in 2000 described that election as being ‘in many places a shambles …. a colossal contempt for ordinary Zanzibar people and their aspirations for democracy’ this time praised the elections as being credible in terms of transparency, electoral management and the overwhelming turnout of voters. 107,074 people registered to vote out of an estimated 140,000 eligible and in the elections themselves a remarkable 93% of those registered turned out to vote. The Commonwealth observers were full of praise for the newly reformed Zanzibar Electoral Commission and its conduct of the elections.

CUF won all 15 Zanzibar seats in the Union parliament and 11 out of the 17 seats in the House of Representatives. It should have won all of the latter as well. However, the CUF candidates were barred in six seats after the NCCR­Mageuzi, a relatively insignificant opposition party, cited a section of the Zanzibar constitution that bans any MP who has been dismissed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives (for failing to attend three consecutive sessions) from seeking re-election for three years. The six were among the 17 elected CUF MP’s who boycotted the House to protest against the alleged rigging of the 2000 general election. Most of the electorate in the six seats responded to the barring of the CUF candidates by spoiling their ballots rather than vote for CCM. In Chake Chake, for example, out of 5,910 votes cast, 4,385 were spoilt. NCCR got 183 votes. The six seats were however won by CCM but its best winner scored just 23% of the votes cast.

CUF Chairman Pro£ Ibrahim Lipumba commented: “If we want any evidence that CCM stole the 2000 elections the result in the Mkanganyeni constituency is it” (a view contested by CCM). This was a seat won by CCM’s Dr Ali Mohamed Shein in 2000, who later had to vacate the seat when he became Vice-President of Tanzania. This time the CUF candidate took the seat comfortably with 66% of the vote.

The elections marked an important development in the implementation of the “Muafaka”, an agreement signed between CUF and the CCM, after post­election protests turned violent in 2001 and led to the death of some 40 CUF supporters at the hands of the police.

Following these by-elections it seems that in 2005 CCM can look forward again to success on the mainland. But for it to win in the Isles, if the election is free and fair, will be something of a struggle. CUF needs to win only a few seats on the sister Zanzibar island of Unguja to win control of the Zanzibar House of Assembly and probably the presidency of Zanzibar as well.

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS IN ZANZIBAR

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TWO NEW PARTIES
Two new political parties have been registered in Zanzibar bringing the total number of parties in Tanzania to 18. They are ‘Solidarity of Force 3’ (SOFT) and ‘SAFINA’. The leaders of both parties originally belonged to CUF before defecting to CCM. Both parties have said that they want to guide Zanzibar to a ‘new beginning’ and that CCM is out of touch.

DIVISION WITHIN CCM?
On July 18 the Swahili press reported that prominent Zanzibar businessman Mohamed Raza, who was Sports Advisor to former CCM Zanzibar President Salmin Amour, had said that the ruling CCM party in the Isles was now split into two groups. He said that one group was currently in power while the other represented those who were previously in power during President Amour’s time. He said the situation was becoming critical and that if elections were held in the islands today the opposition CUF would win. CCM leaders reacted by saying that Raza was ignorant in politics and also on the constitutions of the CCM and of Zanzibar. Deputy CCM Secretary General, Zanzibar, Saleh Ramadhani Feruzi said that Raza had always been an impatient person and denied his allegations that CCM Zanzibar was mistreating former President Amour and that the party was divided. Some observers however began putting two and two together and coming to the conclusion that at least one of the two new parties referred to above might comprise dissident CCM members.

SPECIAL PARLIAMENTARY SEATS
There has been some controversy about the two special (nominated) Zanzibar House of Assembly seats, which, under the constitution, are granted by the Isles presidency, to the opposition. President Karume hesitated for some time before awarding one to CUF but seemed to hold out in the case of the second. Some of the very small parties in Zanzibar had been carrying out a vociferous campaign demanding that they should be awarded the other seat. A decision is awaited.

POLICE QUESTIONING
CUF National Chairman Professor Ibrahim Lipumba was questioned by police for three hours on July 25 as was the party’s Deputy Secretary General, Juma Duni Haji. The questioning was said to be in connection with speeches made at a CUF rally. Duni was quoted as having admitted he received a letter from Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Ramadhani Kinyogo calling on him to report at Police headquarters in Zanzibar. He said reasons for the summons was not revealed but that he suspected it had something to do with the recent remarks made by Professor Lipumba at the Zanzibar rally. He admitted that remarks annoying to the Government were made at the meeting, adding that they would continue making them. Later the Police said it was satisfied by explanations and answers given by Professor Lipumba but added that should there be any eruption of violence they would take legal measures against him -Mtanzania.

ZANZIBAR

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The Government has published the detailed report of the Presidential Probe Commission on the killing of demonstrators by police in Zanzibar on 26th January and 27, 2001.

In its editorial on 28th January The African wrote that a lot had been written and said about the episode but that was now history, however bitter. ‘Every one of us should now say: never again!’ The CUF -CCM dialogue that culminated in the accord between two parties signed in October 2001 had been a good step forward. Even though the report of the Commission had some shortcomings, it had proved, nonetheless, that the government cared about what had happened and was anxious to see that it would not happen again.’

CUF chairman Ibrahim Lipumba described the report as shallow and a government whitewash. Those who were involved in the killings would have to account for their offences,” he said. The source of the killings had been CCM’s resolve to cling to power at any cost even when it had been defeated.

The Commission was chaired by Brigadier-General Hashim Mbita. Lipumba said that he had requested President Mkapa to include independent members in the Commission but none ofthe names he had suggested had been found acceptable.

The British Sunday Times (29th December, 2002) and the BBC reported that the British Foreign office had updated its tourist travel advice last Christmas eve: ‘We believe that Tanzania, including Zanzibar and Pemba islands, is one of a number of countries in East Africa where there may be an increased terrorist threat. British nationals should be vigilant in hotels, restaurants, bars and nightclubs.’ As a result several hotels reported booking cancellations although most tourists already in the Isles did not show any inclination to cancel their holidays.

Home Affairs Minister Omar Mapuri responded by saying that the Government had put in place security arrangements that would make it impossible for terrorists to operate easily in the country. He called upon tourists to feel free to visit the country’s attractions.

It is now possible to obtain visas for Zanzibar on arrival in the country. British High Commissioner Richard Clarke was quoted in the press on January 25 as saying that Britain had never at any time ordered its nationals to cancel their plans to visit Zanzibar; neither had it issued an order to its nationals already there to leave the country. He had come to the conclusion that the Isles were peaceful and safe.

ZANZIBAR

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THE IMPLEMENTATION THE MUAFAKA
Implementation of the remarkable Muafaka (agreement) of 10th October 2001 (detailed in TA No. 71) between the then warring CCM and CUF parties continues to proceed fairly well.

The Presidential Commission investigating the disturbances in Pemba in January 2001 has interviewed some 1,400 people and has published its report. The report has criticised the police for killing 30 persons but pointed out that if they had been better equipped they might not have needed to use their rifles against the rioters. (We hope to have more details of the report in our next issue -Editor).

Of all the issues which divided the nation and resulted in the rioting, the composition of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) was considered to be crucial. The Zanzibar Constitution has now been amended and a new Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) has been appointed with four members who have CCM sympathies and two members nominated by CUF. Members of the new ZEC were sworn in at a ceremony at State House attended by people from all parties.
Another indication of progress in implementation of the agreement has been regular meetings between CCM President Amani Karume and leaders of opposition parties.

Furthermore, an amendment to the 1984 Electoral Law, passed by the House of Representatives on October 2nd, has established a permanent register of voters. It is hoped that this will remove fears expressed by CUF that CCM had been cheating in earlier elections by bringing voters to the islands from the mainland.

But political development rarely goes entirely smoothly in Zanzibar. The Guardian reported on October 3 that the government, against strong CUF objections, had found it fit that community leaders, popularly known Shehas (local leaders regarded by CUF as CCM sympathisers) should continue to co-ordinate the voters’ registration exercise because of their local knowledge. CUP Secretary General Seif Sharrif Hamad later met with President Karume to register his objections to the continued use of Sheha’s.

The Government has also decided that a simple majority, rather than 50% of the voters, should determine the winner in a presidential election race and that the number of constituencies should be reduced, particularly in the CUF stronghold of Pemba. Minister of State in the President’s Office (Constitution and Good Governance) Omar Makungu said that the decision to introduce the simple majority system in determining the winner of a presidential race was aimed at improving multi-party democracy in the Isles. The 50% winning system was adopted during the single-party era. With the introduction of multi-partyism it was imperative for the system to be changed.

THE BY-ELECTIONS
It is understood that the Government does not want the new electoral system to be made effective until the 2005 elections but CUF wants its introduction by March 2003 in time for 16 key by-elections in Pemba in constituencies won by CUF in 2000. The 16 former MP’s were expelled from the House of Representatives after they had boycotted proceedings following the disturbances. There is one by-election in Pemba in a seat held by CCM. This arose when Vice-President Shein was chosen by President Mkapa to move to Dar es Salaam to take up his new position. If these by-elections are free and fair, the results will indicate clearly, for the first time since multi-partyism was introduced in Tanzania, whether CUF has the electoral support in the Isles which it has always claimed it has. It believes that it was deprived of victory in the 1995 and 2000 elections.

The Zanzibar government increased the punishment for clove smugglers at the beginning of October. The island’s Minister for Trade said that anyone convicted of smuggling would now be sentenced to 10 years in jail. At the same time clove prices were raised -Majira

THE ZANZIBAR AGREEMENT

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After some initial delay, implementation of the CCM-CUF Agreement of October 10 2001 (TA Nos. 71 and 72) is proceeding well. An amendment to the Zanzibar constitution passed by the House of Assembly allows President Karume to establish a new Electoral Commission including opposition members and to appoint two new opposition MP’s to the Assembly. Protests by other small parties (none of which has had any success in Zanzibar elections) that they were being excluded from these arrangements by CUF have been rebuffed by the latter on the grounds that it was CUF which signed the agreement and members of CUF who went to jail, were killed or fled into exile last year after protests in the streets against the election results.

Bye-elections in the 16 seats in Pemba from which elected CUF MP’s were expelled (following their boycott of the Assembly) and the one vacant CCM seat arising from the appointment of Dr Shein, a former Zanzibar MP as Vice President of Tanzania, have been scheduled for next March.

IMPLEMENTATION OF ZANZIBAR AGREEMENT PROCEEDS APACE

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The Government is proceeding rapidly with implementation of the 52-page agreement signed on October 10 2001 between the two parties in Zanzibar (see TA No.71) which has transformed the previously tense political environment in Zanzibar.

PRAISE FROM PEACE FORUM
Addressing a meeting of the International Peace Forum in New York, the architects of the agreement, CCM Secretary General Philip Mang’ula and CUF Secretary General Seif Shariff Hamad were praised for reaching the agreement themselves without outside mediation. The process they had gone through could be used in resolving other international conflicts they were told. Tanzanian Ambassador to the United Nations Mr Mwakawago suggested that the two parties might now help resolve religious conflicts in Tanzania.

IMPLEMENTATION
The following steps have been taken to implement the accord according to the Guardian and the Express:

– President Mkapa formed on January 16 a COMMISSION OF ENQUIRY to investigate the killings of the CUF demonstrators The Commission’s terms of reference include the investigation, without bias, of the cause of the events; the consequences; whether there is need to offer humanitarian aid to those affected; and, to make proposals on reconciliation. The Commission will also propose to the government steps that should be taken so that such happenings do not recur. Brigadier General (rtd) Hashim I. Mbita is the chairman of the team and Phillip Mcamanga the secretary. The Commission started work on March 25 and is required to present its report by July 31.

– The Zanzibar House of Representatives, meeting in Pemba on April 9 was due to pass an eighth amendment to the constitution under which an INDEPENDENT ELECTION COMMISSION under a Chairperson with legal qualifications equivalent to those of a judge, would be set up. Members would include two nominated by the government, and two nominated by the leader of the opposition. The Bill said that every Zanzibari should be granted a right to vote regardless of the time he or she had been living in the area where she or he had registered as a voter. This schedule aimed at quashing the previous rule which required a person to live in a particular area for five consecutive years in order to qualify as a voter. The changes also required the creation of a permanent voters register. The amendments would also set down principles separating the powers of the executive, legislature and judiciary. They said that all government organs and its servants would be governed in accordance with international conventions on human rights and principles of good governance. This change follows prolonged complaints that the government has been intervening in decisions made by the courts. For the first time Zanzibar will have its own Director of Public Prosecutions who will be appointed by the President to hold the post for five year periods extendable. STOP PRESS -The Bill was passed on April 17th.

– Zanzibar President Karume has set up a COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE COMPLAINTS BY WORKERS AND CIVIL SERVANTS WHO ALLEGED THAT THEY HAD BEEN DISMISSED FOR POLITICAL REASONS. In view of the large number claiming compensation within the first few days (some 1,500) the Commission’s Chairman, Jaffa Ali Juma, said that workers would have to bring genuine evidence regarding their sacking.

– By-elections in 16 parliamentary seats now vacant because the CUF MP’s were expelled following a boycott will be held next year.

– President Mkapa has nominated an additional CUF MP to the National Assembly in Dodoma.

– For the first time CUF members attended a party given by President Karume in February.

But, according to the Guardian, four other opposition parties have objected to their non-inclusion in the discussions about the Zanzibar Agreement and have threatened to challenge the agreement in a court of law -Guardian.

LETTER FROM ZANZIBAR

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Bank Holiday Weekend, Idd el Fitr.
lOam. I’m sitting on this balcony with a wrought-iron railing, nicely symmetrical and painted green. The floors are dark planks of wood and I feel it could be Cuba although I’ve never been there. Perhaps it is something about the mugginess in the air, the tropical heat. The goat-skin chairs give the game away: skinned branches curled to make an uncomfortable frame on which the skin of a goat lies stretched in two parts, the seat and the backrest. I am sure it took a long time to make. It is certainly handmade. Yet it cannot escape being a particular kind of tourist African kitsch.

In Zanzibar, the buildings carry the exotic elegance of old age and times past. The church opposite my Cuban balcony has lost its magnolia starting colours, now dominated by a sooty grey­blackness. It does not look dirty though, more experienced. Below the church, between it and my balcony, lies the old slave market. Now it is a quiet place, like a London suburb before the kids come back from school. It is still, calm, with a young tree gently swaying in the centre of a roundabout. The roundabout is large, and dominates whatever went on there before.

4pm. It was time for lunch. Paying a visit to the families we once stayed with on our respective study periods here, Linda and I started in Michenzani. We climbed to the first floor of the high grey block of flats that are something out of the Mao era. There we met Linda and family. The Honourable CCM MP Remedius Kissassi of Dimani Constituency was immediately obvious as a man of political power and stature. Stockily built, he had that magnanimous yet steely aura of a man used to social occasions and the proper reception of guests. The Hon. Kissassi keeps a humble home for his wife, but an active hand in island entrepreneurship. He is looking for investment in a number of tourist ventures here for someone with the capital and incentive. After eating we moved to the tin-roofed entanglement of Mwembetanga, to see Ibrahim, one of the family I stayed with in 1997, and the original conspiracy theorist. To Ibrahim, the Americans remain the bullies of the world, and the English the tricksters. The French he respects for at least resisting the States, while the Germans remain a silent entity who keep menacingly quiet after the scar they have left on the world. His life-long respect of sorts for the English is tempered by their weak leadership, which hangs on the arm and every word of the arrogant Americans. He says he smells in the air the scent of a third world war, because of that article in NATO that brings all members into battle. I say I think he is being a little pessimistic. He raises his eyebrows. He is concerned the Americans may try and bomb more sand, dust and poverty in Somalia. Ibrahim sees both America and bin Laden/AI Qaeda with one eye: as terrorists, and supports neither, if indeed bin Laden can be shown to be guilty. He says he supports no man or group that kills or injures innocent people. His support lies with the cause of social justice and representation. As a man once made to stand up to his neck in a room full of shit with only the flies for company, as part of a seven year sentence for his political associations, it is not hard to understand his fascination for power, politics and human rights.

So we put the world to rights and agreed to a celebratory lunch tomorrow for the second day of Idd el Fitr; the feasting after the fasting of Ramadan. A relaxed feeling grew with Ibrahim’ s generous manner of warm speech and open interest in people, and really settled upon us as we returned in the warm afternoon sunlight to the St Monica hostel for coffee on the balcony.

Ibrahim’s view of international politics was to some degree paralleled in an alleyway on our route home. Three wizened old men in long white kanzu said they did not take sides in this war on terror. They were just waiting for some evidence as to who had actually done what before they made judgement Another man, this time a Christian with a straw hat, sipping coca-cola, was fatalistic. We don’t have a part in what goes on abroad, it is nothing to do with us, he said, but we do believe in peace here. Back on the balcony, the church had become home to a practicing choir, and the dulcet tones of well-known Christmas carols took us downstairs and past the roundabout and into the church to hear the harmonies. Their soulful rendition of Silent Night with bases, tenors and sopranos perfectly pitched made me feel for once a long lost childhood spirit of Christmas. As the afternoon wears into evening and the call to prayer resumes, the mellow feeling will no doubt continue, but accompanied with a more exotic feel.

6.38pm. Dusk falls, and the muezzin (prayer callers) have begun, simultaneously with the revving of engines, and an alarm call to bring all men to the mosques for the dusk prayers of Idd el Fitr. At least three mosques near the balcony compete for maximum sonic vibration while the choir sings valiantly on. Their harmonies return to the ear in the gap between the call itself and the beginning of prayers, then are drowned again.

Zanzibar picks up at dusk, the place is cool enough for people to walk around again and visit friends and relatives; the deadening heat kept at bay until the morning. Celebrations for Idd should have begun now, but an outbreak of Cholera that is only just dying down, has meant the colourful candlelit stalls at Foradhani and Mnazi Mmoja have been called off.

With dusk, the birds and bats add their flying performances to an increasingly social fray, but unfortunately do not eat the mosquitoes whose sudden presence mean moving off the Cuban balcony to somewhere with a stronger sea breeze.
Paul Harrison

ZANZIBAR – A COMPREHENSIVE AGREEMENT

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A comprehensive 52-page agreement (Muafaka) was signed on October 10, after eight months of negotiations, between the respective Secretaries General of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, Philip Mang’ula and of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) Seif Sharrif Hamad. The long standing political crisis in the isles has been explained in many issues of ‘Tanzanian Affairs’ since 1995 when the results of the elections in the Isles in that year were questioned by some observers. The situation was exacerbated when the 2000 elections were widely considered as having been rigged. Opposition dissatisfaction culminated in over 20 deaths during rioting on 26 and 27 January 2001 and the flight to Kenya of more than 2000 refugees. President Mkapa admitted that these events had been ‘a stain on the history of the nation’. After the signing, which was a happy and emotional event, donor agencies indicated that aid to Zanzibar would be resumed once the agreement was implemented.

THE AGREEMENT IN DETAIL
The agreement is comprehensive and responds to many but not all of CUF’s demands, including reform of the much criticised Zanzibar Electoral Commission, the introduction of a permanent register of eligible voters, a review of the existing constitution and electoral laws (by February 2002) to make them conform to a multi-party political system, fair coverage of both parties in publicly-owned media, and payment of compensation to those affected by earlier disturbances. CCM refused to accept CUF’s demand for a re-run of the 2000 elections but accepted that CUF would be involved in government affairs through the offer of ambassadorial posts and membership in various institutions. There would be by-elections in the 16 CUF constituencies which were declared vacant when CUF MP’s had been expelled following their boycott of proceedings in the House of Representatives. There would be an independent enquiry (to be concluded by April 2002) on the rioting. Talks regarding a possible coalition government were to start not later than June 2003 and would be held under a 10-person joint ‘Presidential Commission on Implementation and Monitoring’ to monitor implementation of the agreement. The precise powers of this commission are not clear but it does indicate a move towards sharing of power. After the signing of the agreement, 109 criminal cases related to January’s unrest including a murder charge against CUF Assistant Secretary General Juma Duni Haji, were dropped.

“FROM NOW ON I WILL SLEEP MORE SOUNDLY” – MKAPA
At the ceremony marking the occasion President Mkapa said: “This is a day of great pleasure and satisfaction to me personally. From now on I think I will sleep more soundly. For, it is true that the political crisis in Zanzibar has weighed heavily on my shoulders. The deaths that occurred in January 2001 in Unguja and Pemba (Tanzanian Affairs No 69) disturbed and saddened me greatly…. We were used to hearing of such deaths in other countries, not in ours. The decision of our fellow citizens to seek refuge outside the country also made me sad, and shamed our nation. We are used to receiving refugees, not creating refugees…. Our people expected too much from me in bringing this crisis to an end. Political parties, likewise, expected too much from me. High Commissioners and Ambassadors, and their Governments, all the time wanted me to do much more; sometimes without regard to constitutional requirements and the limits of my powers. But, more importantly, they forgot that one person couldn’t solve a crisis like this, unless he can make miracles, and I could not make miracles. The only miracle option I had was to revert to African traditions and ways of resolving conflicts, under which even before colonialism, our elders, when confronted by a major crisis, used ‘to sit under a tree’ discuss, listen to each side, weigh each argument, without regard to how long it took to reach an agreement. The overriding objective always was to reach consensus -a consensus that takes into account the concerns and interests of each side, a consensus in which there are no winners and no losers, a consensus that will be respected by each side, because each side considers itself part of the process and of the agreement reached; all sides professing equal rights and equal responsibilities. And this is what we did this time…. There were those who said the drawn out negotiations were only a CCM tactic to buy time. There were those who wanted to resort to violent shortcuts. But the top leadership of both CCM and CUF stood firm, guided by the African way of doing things, and continued to ‘sit under a tree,’ day after day, week after week, month after month, and today as the Kiswahili saying puts it: ‘They said it can’t happen; it has happened!’ I should like on this occasion to thank most heartedly the Secretaries General of CCM and CUF, Honourable Philip Mangula and Honourable Seif Shariff Hamad, together with their negotiating teams. They all did an excellent job; with great wisdom; guided by a sense of nationalism; and when they were ridiculed they did not pay attention, focussing instead on the ultimate goal, the goal that puts national interests first, and the goal of the restoration of peace, stability, dignity and integrity in national politics. I am deeply grateful to my fellow Tanzanians for their patience. As the Swahili proverb says: ‘It is he who is patient that eats the ripe fruit’….. Tanzania is a country for all Tanzanians and not for a group of people. CCM is part of today’s signed agreement and I myself as the president of the Union and CCM National Chairman, I promise to implement fully the agreement. … ”

Zanzibar President Amani Karume added that the signing of the agreement would be meaningless, if it were not fully implemented.” CUF National Chairman, Prof. Ibrahim Lipumba, said that both CCM and his party should forgive each other, but not forget the past. “Forgetting what happened in the past six years may lead us to repeat similar mistakes in the future” he said.

BRITAIN AND THE EU WELCOME THE PACT
The EU congratulated the leaders of the two parties in particular and Tanzania in general for showing determination to resolve their long­standing conflicts peacefully and said that it would increase its assistance to NGO’s on the isles. The British government also sent congratulations “This is wonderful news for all good friends of Tanzania. I pay tribute to the leadership of both CCM and CUF for their vision and courage” British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said in a statement issued by the British High Commission in Dar es Salaam. Most of the 2,000 refugees who had fled Zanzibar after the January clashes have returned to Zanzibar although a group of 103 reportedly arrived in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, from Kenya on October 6.

THEN A SETBACK
Amidst all the euphoria however, when it came to enactment of legislation to implement the agreement, problems arose. The East African reported that three clauses in the Agreement had been changed and others dropped. Zanzibar Attorney General Iddi Pandu Hassan said that the agreement had been signed between the political parties and that the Zanzibar Revolutionary Government had the right to examine the agreement if it felt that the security of the state was at stake.

The Guardian reported that he had deleted provisions allowing for discussions on the possible formation of a coalition government, and for regular monthly discussions with Zanzibar President Karume. Punishment for those who ‘distorted’ the agreement were apparently excluded from the Bill.

CUF’s reaction was swift. On November, 14 at its National Conference in Zanzibar attended by over 1,000 delegates (said to have been paid for, in the new spirit of amity, by the Government) Secretary General Seif Hamad indicated that CUF would withdraw from the agreement if these changes were made.

The Government then presented the Bill to the Zanzibar House of Assembly (which has only CCM members as the CUF MP’s had been expelled earlier for boycotting the proceedings) and it was passed. Minister of State in the Chief Minister’s Office, Salim Juma Othman said that the amendments made were very minor and were designed to facilitate successful implementation of the agreement and would not affect its substance. Earlier, the Chairman of the Judiciary, Constitution and Good Governance Committee of the House, Ali Juma Shamuhuna, said that the Revolutionary Council did not err in amending the accord because the amended sections interfered with the powers of the President of Zanzibar and were against the Zanzibar constitution. Empowering the CCM-CUF monitoring committee to imprison a person for one year or impose a fine of up to Shs 500,000 for blocking the accord interfered with the powers of the judiciary. The House of Representatives also did not have powers to pass laws concerning the Union. During the session many CCM MP’s called on the political parties to respect the amendments put forward by the Revolutionary Government because the accord had not been a legal document but a draft of suggestions by the two political parties.

As this issue of ‘Tanzanian Affairs’ went to press CUF Chairman Lipumba was reported to have threatened to call for a nationwide demonstration on January 27, 2002, the first anniversary of the riots in Zanzibar, and said that CUF would not recognise the Bill passed by the House. However, discussions between the parties were said to be continuing

ZANZIBAR NOW OFFERS 100% FOREIGN OWNERSHIP
Zanzibar President Amani Karume has announced lucrative packages for potential investors in the isles. He told senior executives and potential investors at a Commonwealth-Tanzania Investment Conference in Dar es Salaam that foreign investors would be allowed to establish business ventures with 100% ownership, “We shall continue to remove administrative and legislative barriers to foreign direct investment,” he said. He added however, that the Isles Government would like foreign investors to consider entering into partnership with domestic investors and mentioned hotels, transport, agriculture, fishing and communication as viable sectors. There would be exemptions of export duty for all goods, exemption of import duties or sales tax charged on machinery, equipment, spare parts, raw materials, and supplies necessary for investments. There would also be a 10 year tax holiday on dividends and exemption of income tax for an initial period of 10 years.

ZANZIBAR -STALEMATE BUT TALKS CONTINUE

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SECRET NEGOTIATIONS
There has been some optimism in Zanzibar during recent weeks as the Secretaries General of both the ruling CCM (Philip Mang’ula) and opposition CUF (Seif Hamad) have conducted lengthy negotiations to try and resolve their many differences (TA No. 69). The negotiations were said to be taking place in secret in a Dar es Salaam Hotel. But, as this issue of TA went to press, no agreement had been signed and both parties were divided on how many concessions they could make in the interests of peace.

According to The Express the secret negotiations revolved around a number of controversial issues raised by CUF in the wake of the October elections in which CCM emerged the winner and CUF refused to accept the results and accused CCM of fraud. The main issues were believed to be CUF’ s demand for fresh elections, an independent Electoral Commission and a Commission of Inquiry to probe the tragic killings of 26th and 27th January (TA No. 69). But, according to The Express, going by the oft-repeated pronouncements of some top leaders in both camps, neither party was going to soften its stance on the issue of elections. As far as CCM was concerned the 2000 elections were now history, and therefore the presidency of Aman Abeid Karume was a non-negotiable matter. On the other hand, CUF’s uncompromising position was that they could not go for anything short of a repeat of the whole election exercise throughout Zanzibar. They had adamantly refused to recognize Karume as President; the rest of the opposition parties had thrown their weight behind CUF. Some political commentators thought that, as in the case of the problems which erupted in the wake of the 1995 elections, this issue would be resolved by time.

CUF National Chairman, Professor Ibrahim Lipumba, told his members in Zanzibar, and later, journalists in Dar es Salaam, that his party was dissatisfied with the pace of the CCM -CUF talks. He gave July 31 as a deadline for CUF’s continued participation, but, after a peaceful CUF rally in Pemba on July 22, this was later extended to the end of August. He said CUF had come to question CCM’s sincerity and suspected that the latter was taking part in the negotiations merely in order to impress the donor community.

The Zanzibar President had earlier warned the donor community against ‘interfering’ in the internal affairs of Zanzibar and accused them of colluding with CUF to enforce a re-run of the elections. “But” according to Mtanzania “we’re not going to give in,” he said. When President Karume was in London in May some Zanzibari’s organised a demonstration against him. He was reported in Mtanzania as having said that he was too busy to meet them.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International has called for support for Juma Duni Haji and another CUF leader in Zanzibar who have been charged with murdering a policeman in Pemba during the disturbances in January. The prosecution said that the trial should take place in Pemba. The Attorney-General was reported to have told the court that the accused had no case to answer but the police said that they had the evidence. The defence said that the prosecution was delaying matters so as to continue keeping the accused in jail.

Swedish Ambassador Sten Ryland was quoted as saying that his country would give swift financial support to Zanzibar’s health and education sectors, as well as funds for rehabilitation of Zanzibar’s rich historical buildings, as soon as CCM and CUF struck a deal.

CALL FOR PATIENCE
As this issue of TA goes to press CUF leaders Lipumba and Hamad have been asking their members to be patient so as to give more time for the negotiations. Hard-liners were reported to be very dissatisfied by the lack of progress in the talks. Many had been highly critical of the delay in concluding the talks and with signs that the CUF leadership might be prepared to compromise. The CCM side was also said to be divided on how far to go to appease CUF.

On July 19 the police said that they had seized anti-aircraft and demolition firearms on the island of Tumbatu.

PRESIDENT MKAPA TIGHTENS HIS GRIP

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THE JANUARY EVENTS
Following his overwhelming victory in the October 2000 elections President Mkapa and his ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party have made it clear that they are not prepared to tolerate any infringement of the law by members of an aggrieved political opposition unwilling to accept the results of the flawed election in Zanzibar last year (Tanzanian Affairs No 68). After apparently authorising his security forces to use tough measures against opposition Civic United Front (CUF) supporters protesting against the results of the elections, several of these supporters were killed and some hundreds, eventually building up to more than 2,000, including 14 MP’s, fled from Pemba to neighbouring Kenya as refugees. The result has been, as the President has himself admitted, considerable damage to Tanzania’s long standing reputation as a haven of peace, tolerance and unity.

34 MP’s OPPOSITION EXPELLED FROM PARLIAMENT
The trouble began with the October 29 elections in Zanzibar which many who witnessed them consider to have been rigged by the ruling CCM party. The elections were also accompanied by police violence against opposition supporters. CUF refused to recognise the new Presidents of Tanzania and Zanzibar and boycotted the Zanzibar House of Representatives and the Tanzanian National Assembly. After they had boycotted three sessions, the Speakers of the two houses, using powers granted to them under the constitutions, expelled CUF’s 15 MP’s in the National Assembly and the 19 CUF members of the Zanzibar House of Representatives. This reduced the number of opposition MP’s in the National Assembly to 15 compared with 238 for CCM (the opposition parties had gained 28% of the total vote in the 2,000 presidential elections).

Two days before the expulsions, the government had rushed through the National Assembly an amendment to the election law, under a certificate of urgency, which stated that where a seat in parliament became vacant for any reason, a by-election could not be held until two years later. The remaining non-CUF opposition MP’s walked out of the Assembly in protest. The reason for the amendment was said to be the need for the government to have time to organise funding for the 34 byelections – these would normally have taken place within 50 days of the vacancies being created. This meant that a major part of the Zanzibar electorate were effectively disfranchised for two years. An opposition leader has challenged the new amendment in court.

However, an indication that the dramatic events of the last three months may not have disturbed the tranquillity of the mainland electorate in its choice of CCM to lead the country, came in five by-elections following the general election all of which were won by CCM.