Military

DATE=11/02/00

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=TANZANIA ELECTIONS (L-ONLY)

NUMBER=2-2-268749

BYLINE=KATY SALMON

DATELINE=NAIROBI

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa is meeting with senior members of his party in Zanzibar today (Thursday) about the political crisis in the country's Indian Ocean islands. The government has resisted calls for a complete re-run of last Sunday's flawed elections, and there are fears that political discontent could turn violent. Katy Salmon reports from Nairobi.

TEXT: Although President Mkapa appears to be heading for a landslide victory in nationwide Tanzanian elections, celebrations are being put on hold while he addresses the threat of fresh violence erupting in Zanzibar.

President Mkapa is in Zanzibar (Thursday) for a meeting with the central committee of his ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party, the C-C-M, in an attempt to resolve the semi-autonomous islands' electoral chaos.

Mr. Mkapa hopes to calm the political situation in Zanzibar before Sunday, when his government plans a partial re-run of the elections. The original ballot on the island (last Sunday) was deemed deeply flawed by almost everyone except Mr. Mkapa's (C-C-M) party.

The opposition Civic United Front, the C-U-F, is calling for a boycott, and warning that its supporters will take to the streets if the C-C-M is seen to "steal" an electoral victory. If that happens, there are likely to be renewed clashes between the opposition and the police.

International observers say the original (presidential, legislative and council) elections in Zanzibar were undemocratic, in contrast to those held in mainland Tanzania. There have been widespread allegations of ballot-rigging on the islands. Ballots were delivered late to many districts where the opposition C-U-F does well, and in some places ballots never arrived at all.

Zanzibar's electoral commission admits there were "irregularities," and it is promising a fresh vote in 16 of the 50 constituencies. Observers say the whole process is flawed and should start again from the beginning, but the electoral commission - which was hand-picked by the ruling party - has rejected their demand.

Analysts say President Mkapa is facing a serious dilemma, with the unity of Tanzania at stake. If the opposition C-U-F wins power in Zanzibar, the party says it will try to renegotiate the terms of Zanzibar's 36-year political union with mainland Tanganyika.

The C-U-F says the ruling party is run by people from the mainland who ignore the islanders' needs. In 1995, the C-U-F lost by a tiny margin to the C-C-M in an election that many observers said was seriously flawed, and donors cut aid as a signal of their disapproval.

President Mkapa says C-U-F's separatist sentiments are dangerous to national stability, but he is once again under pressure from the international community to allow genuinely free and fair elections in Zanzibar. (Signed)

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