Tanzania - Election 2000
The United Republic of Tanzania amended its Constitution in 1992 to become a multiparty state. Agriculture provides 85 percent of employment. Cotton, coffee, cashews, sisal, tea, and gemstones account for most export earnings. The industrial sector is small. Economic reforms undertaken since 1986, including liberalization of agricultural policy, the privatization of state-owned enterprises, the rescheduling of foreign debt payments, and the freeing of the currency exchange rate, helped to stimulate economic growth, as has the decline in the rate of inflation.
Except in Zanzibar, citizens generally enjoyed the right to discuss political alternatives freely, although there were instances in which the freedom of speech was restricted severely. Political parties are required by law to support the continuation of the Union. Opposition political party members and others openly criticize the Government and ruling party in public forums; however, persons using "abusive language" against the country's leadership may be subject to arrest, and the Government used this provision to detain some opposition figures.
In Zanzibar the Government controls radio and television, and also implements a restrictive policy with regard to print media. In 1998 a Zanzibar government minister threatened three newspapers because of their allegedly negative reporting. Soon thereafter, amendments to the Zanzibar News Act further circumscribed journalists' freedom of action, by giving authorities greater protection for the harassment, detention, and interrogation of journalists. Private mainland newspapers are widely available in Zanzibar, and many residents can receive mainland television.
Opposition parties, other than in Zanzibar, generally are able to hold rallies; however, CUF meetings have been banned periodically since 1995. In Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam, CUF rallies were more restricted than those of other political parties. CUF rallies were banned at least once in Dar es Salaam and several times in Zanzibar before the October elections. Several rallies were prevented through indirect means as cutting off electricity for loudspeakers, citing ad hoc time limits, and scheduling the same rally times for more than one group. Security officials interfered with citizens' rights to assemble peacefully on numerous occasions.
Police used excessive force during rallies and demonstrations protesting the October 29 elections in Zanzibar. On October 30, police beat both demonstrators and bystanders during rallies and demonstrations in the Darajani district of Stone Town in Zanzibar. FFU officers beat and shot demonstrators, who were chanting antigovernment slogans, resulting in a number of injuries and arrests.
The Constitution of Zanzibar provides citizens with the right to change their government peacefully; however, this right was circumscribed severely. In June 1999, a Commonwealth-brokered agreement between the ruling CCM party and the opposition CUF party was signed, but its provisions were not implemented fully during the year. While both parties failed to fulfill parts of the accord, impartial observers agree that the Government of Salmin Amour in Zanzibar did not appear to act in good faith. The Zanzibar Government refused to reform its electoral commission, a provision that was central to the agreement, and the Commonwealth Agreement was not implemented during the year. In Zanzibar there were credible reports of irregularities during the voter registration process conducted in August in preparation for the October elections.
The ruling CCM party was accused by several opposition parties of illegally registering mainland citizens as voters in Zanzibar. Some transportation operators were asked by union officials to transport citizens from the mainland to Zanzibar without charge. One operator reported that his family received threatening telephone calls at home for refusing to comply with the request. Shehas (village headmen) were responsible for validating residency requirements for voting in the elections. The majority of shehas were CCM members, and international monitors reported that in some cases they abused their discretion during the registration process. There also were credible reports that CUF supporters attempted to intimidate legally registered voters believed to be CCM supporters in Zanzibar. The homes of several long-term residents of mainland origin reportedly were stoned, and in August, three residences were burned down, although no one claimed responsibility for these actions. Subsequently, some occupants decided to leave Zanzibar or to send family members to the mainland until after the election.
The Government continued to harass its opponents and arrested opposition politicians for holding meetings, distributing information, and other acts that it regarded as seditious. The authorities forcibly dispersed a number of political rallies during the period prior to and after the October elections. In October police officials pulled opposition leader Augustine Mrema off of a platform in Kigoma during a campaign rally before he had finished speaking; he had a permit to speak for an additional 30 minutes. In May 1999, Mrema had been prohibited from running for reelection by a High Court injunction that stated that he was ineligible to run because he had changed political parties, and had not yet been designated formally as chairman of his new party. The injunction against Mrema was dropped after the Court of Appeals ruled that the lower court had no grounds to prohibit his nomination as the Labor Party chairman in order to be eligible for presidential nominations. In October, police forced opposition leader John Cheyo to leave a campaign platform in Morogoro for speaking after the legal deadline for campaign rallies of 6 p.m. When Mr. Cheyo resisted, police threatened him with a police baton and physically removed him from the platform. On October 29, Fortunatus Masha, an opposition candidate who was vice-chairman of his party was beaten and injured by police in Mwanza district during an altercation at a ballot counting center over possible ballot rigging in favor of the CCM party.
On 29 October 2000, the country conducted its second multiparty national elections for president and parliament. On the mainland, international observers concluded that the elections were free and fair and conducted peacefully. The incumbent President of the mainland, Benjamin Mkapa, was reelected with 71 percent of the vote, and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party made significant gains in its majority in Parliament, winning 167 out of 181 seats.
In the October elections, opposition candidates gained 11 seats in 6 of the 19 mainland regions, giving them a total of 14 seats in Parliament in 8 out of 20 regions. In the 5 administrative regions of Zanzibar, the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) won 16 seats. The islands of Zanzibar are integrated into the United Republic's governmental and party structure; however, the Zanzibar Government, which has its own president and parliament, exercises considerable autonomy.
In October presidential and parliamentary elections took place in Zanzibar; however, the vote was marred by irregularities, voter intimidation, and politically-motivated violence. Votes were cancelled in 16 constituencies, and new votes were held on November 5. The CUF boycotted the revotes in protest. The ruling CCM party won a majority of 34 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 seats in the National Assembly. The national judiciary is formally independent but suffers from corruption, inefficiency, and executive interference.
The arrival of multi-party competition proved problematic in Zanzibar. The 1995 and 2000 elections were very closely contested between CCM and CUF and marred by violence, intimidation and serious allegations of vote rigging. CUF refused to accept the results in 1995. A Commonwealth Agreement brokered in 1999 failed to solve the impasse.
Mismanagement and chaos again marred the October 2000 election on Zanzibar. CUF refused to recognise the election of the CCM presidential candidate, Amani Karume, or to take their seats in the House of Representatives. In January 2001, some 30 demonstrators were killed by the security forces during an opposition demonstration on Pemba island.
Voting irregularities during the October 29 elections included the late arrival and absence of ballots, and the late opening of polling stations. The Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) stopped balloting and counting throughout Zanzibar at 5:30 in the evening, even in locations that did not have ballot shortages. Police and some officials from the Zanzibar Electoral Commission were implicated in the voting irregularities. Police officers, accompanied by ZEC officials, seized ballot boxes in many constituencies, including the entire island of Pemba, and most of the ballot boxes were not under independent or opposition supervision after they were seized. Four groups of international election observers criticized the Zanzibar vote and called for a re-run election in all of the Zanzibar constituencies; however, the Government only announced new elections in 16 of the 50 constituencies to be held on November 5.
Voter turnout for the new elections was low. The opposition boycotted the re-run election, claiming that the elections already had been compromised. After the re-run, the ruling party announced that it had won all of the constituencies in Zanzibar and four constituencies on Pemba (where they previously did not hold any seats). The final results of the re-run election gave the ruling CCM party 34 seats in the 50-seat House of Representatives and 35 seats in the 50-seat National Assembly. CCM candidate Amani Karume was declared the new Zanzibari President on November 7.
Since the 1995 elections, government security forces and CCM gangs harassed and intimidated CUF members on both main Zanzibar islands, Pemba and Ugunja, and such incidents sharply increased in the 3 months before the October elections. Security forces forcibly dispersed gatherings and intimidated, harassed, arrested and beat persons. During the November 5 re-run elections, police beat and reportedly tortured opposition officials. Almost all international donors had suspended direct assistance to Zanzibar in response to the authorities' human rights abuses in 1995, and the suspension remained in effect by year's end.
Reconciliation talks between the CCM and CUF culminated in the signing of the Muafaka (Swahili for Accord) Agreement between CCM and CUF on 10 October 2001. It provided for: an inquiry into the January 2001 violence; the dropping of charges against CUF members; by-elections to fill the 16 seats left vacant by CUF; the establishment of a permanent voter register for 2005 and reform of the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC). In elections held on 30 October 2005, Amani Karume was re-elected President of Zanzibar with 53% of the vote. Talks towards inter-party reconciliation, known as the third Muafaka, stalled.
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