Tanzanian man jailed for double voting

A Tanzanian court has jailed Daudi Gindishi, 41, three years in prison after he was convicted of voting twice during general elections on Sunday. The Maswa district court has said the penalty should be a lesson to other people with similar habits. Local media reported the judgment happened on Monday.

The court would not consider the suspect’s defence who says this was his first offence. Magistrate Thomas Mtani said voting twice is very serious offence and sentenced the jail term without the option of paying the fine.

The security police arrested the man on Sunday because of suspicious of voting twice, the Tanzanian’s Citizen Newspaper reported.

The Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) agents at Ghalani polling station in Mwanitumai village saw the suspect entering the station with six ballot papers.

When he was searched he was found with the voting papers and after interrogation he admitted that he was given the ballots by the returning officer at the poling centre who also allowed him to vote twice.

The court also heard that the retuning officer had promised the suspect Sh100, 000 if he managed to vote twice.

The Tanzanian’s general election on Sunday had caused tensions between Tanzania's ruling party and two challenging parties as the president of the relatively peaceful east African nation sought a second term.

The opposition parties said the election was rigged and accused the National Electoral Commission for bias.

The opposition supporters and police clashed in the country’s capital city of Dar es Salaam and Mwanza as the demonstrators angered delaying to release the results of Sunday's presidential and parliamentary elections.

Vote counting was still going on Monday, with final results of the general election expected to be announced on Tuesday or Wednesday.

The number of eligible voters in Sunday's general elections reached about 19.67 million and about 51,380 polling centres were set up, according to the National Electoral Commission.

Voting on the palm-fringed islands off Tanzania was tainted by bloodshed and allegations of ballot rigging in 2000 and 2005.

Nyerere's nephew wins parliamentary seat

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - Vincent Nyerere, a nephew of Tanzania's founding president Julius Nyerere, won a parliamentary seat under the ticket of Chama Cha Demokrasiana Maendeleo (CHADEMA), as the results of the country's general election held on Sunday trickled in early Monday. Vincent won the seat in the Musoma Urban constituency, the result of which has been fully declared.
Other results for local councils show the ruling CCM party and CHADEMA going neck and neck in several districts.

The turnout at many polling centres for the election was less than expected, according to the early results.

Though no official reason has been given for the low numbers, the obvious explanation could be found in voter apathy, despite the well-attended campaign rallies in the run-up to the polls.

Some people who did not vote claimed they had other pressing business to attend or saw no reason to queue up and vote for someone who entered the contest for his own benefit.

Despite improved telecommunications, returning officers in constituencies seem to be extra-careful in tallying votes from various voting stations before releasing full results.

Kikwete congratulates Zanzibar’s president-elect

President Jakaya Kikwete has sent a congratulatory message to Ali Mohammed Shein for winning the presidential election in Zanzibar.

The congratulatory message was sent on Mondya night after an announced by the Zanzibar Electoral Commission Chairman Khatib Mwinyi Chande that Shein had won the presidential race garnering 50.1 of the vote. His main rival Seif Sharif Hamad of the Civic United Front (CUF) garnered 49.1 percent.

Shein scooped 179,809 votes, while Hamad, who automatically becomes the first vice-president, as per the Zanzibar Constitution amendment, garnered 176,338 votes.

Both leaders called for calm, pledging to work together for the betterment of the semi-autonomous country.

Other contestants were Said Soud said of AFP who got 480 votes or 0.1 per cent, Kassim Bakari Haji of Jahazi Asilia who managed 803 votes or 0.2 percent, Ambar Khaji Khamis of NCCR-Mageuzi who got 363 votes equivalent to 0.12 percent, Khaji Khamis Khaji of NRA who got 525 votes or 0.1 percent and Tadea’s Juma Ali Khatibu who managed 497 votes equivalent to 0.1 per cent.

Shein is expected to assume office as the seventh Zanzibar President on Wednesday.

Dr Shein, who becomes the first native of Pemba island to lead Zanzibar, told a gathering at Bwawani Hotel where the results were announced, that he was capable of the task ahead.

“I know that leading a government of national unity is challenging, because this is a new system here. But I will make sure it works efficiently for the benefit of the current and future generations,” he said.

Zanzibar amended its constitution after a referendum approved the formation of a government of national unity. This was after numerous election-related violence in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Presidential, parliamentary and councillorship elections were held in Zanzibar on Sunday, the same day with Tanzania mainland’s general elections.

Zanzibar gained independence from Britain in December 1963 as a constitutional monarchy. A month later, the Zanzibar Revolution led to the establishment of the Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba. On April 26, 1964, the mainland Tanganyika and Zanzibar formed the United Republic of Tanzania.

Meanwhile, the final result of Tanzania’s general elections is expected to be announced on tomorrow.

President Jakaya Kikwete is widely expected to win a second term, despite the spirited challenge posed by Chadema's Dr Wilbrod and Civic United Front's Prof Ibrahim Lipumba.

Others vying for the top seat are NCCR Mageuzi’s Hashim Rungwe and Fahni Dovutwa of the United People’s Democratic Party (UPDP) and APPT Maendeleo Peter Kuga Mziray.

Tanzania Tensions Rise as Election Results Trickle In

Political tensions are beginning to flare in parts of Tanzania over the slow pace at which results of this week’s presidential election are being announced, the heads of two foreign observer groups said.

The National Electoral Commission of Tanzania has so far announced about a quarter of the results from the vote held on Oct. 31, with President Jakaya Kikwete ahead in 40 of the 57 constituencies counted.

Protests have occurred in Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital, the northern cities of Mwanza and Moshi and other places, over delays, Paul East, head of the Commonwealth’s observer mission, told reporters today in Dar es Salaam.

“I will suggest more must be done to speed up the process,” said East, the former attorney general of New Zealand.

Kikwete, 60, is seeking a second term in which he has pledged to maintain fiscal policies that are expected to drive the economic-growth rate to 6.5 percent this year and 6.7 percent in 2011. Tanzania is Africa’s fourth-largest gold exporter after South Africa, Ghana and Mali. Companies including Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s largest producer of the precious metal, and AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. have mines in the country.

The European Union’s vote-monitoring team is “disappointed, even slightly angry, that we’ve not been allowed access” to the electoral commission’s validation centers, David Martin, the head of mission, told .

‘Concerned’

“We are concerned by any delays in the announcement of the results as this creates both uncertainty and suspicion among the electorate,” said Martin, an EU member of parliament. “We have concerns about the transparency of the aggregation process.”

The results announced by the electoral commission so far also show Ibrahim Lipumba of the Civic United Front won the most votes in 16 constituencies, while Wilbrod Slaa of the opposition Chadema party won more than 50 percent in the other constituency. Tanzania has 239 constituencies.

On Zanzibar, an archipelago in a political union with mainland Tanzania, Ali Mohamed Shein of the ruling Chama cha Mapinduzi party was officially declared president of the islands last night, defeating Seif Sharif Hamad of the Civic United Front.

The African Union is satisfied with the way the election has been conducted, the Addis Ababa-based body said in an e- mailed statement.

Tanzanian Election Begins, Likely to Hand President Kikwete Second Term

Tanzanians began voting in an election that will probably hand President Jakaya Kikwete a second five-year term to implement policies aimed at strengthening East Africa’s second-biggest economy.
Kikwete, who leads the Chama cha Mapinduzi party, has the support of about 71.2 percent of voters, according to an opinion poll conducted by the University of Dar es Salaam this month. The 60-year-old leader is trailed by five other candidates, including Wilbrod Slaa of the Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo party, his closest challenger.
An economist who served for a decade as foreign minister prior to taking office in 2005, Kikwete’s policies have helped generate average annual growth of 6.7 percent, according to International Monetary Fund data. Kikwete has made less progress on dealing with graft, a key platform in his 2005 campaign, with Tanzania’s ranking falling to 116th from 93rd on an index of the world’s most corrupt countries compiled by Berlin-based Transparency International.
“There’s too much corruption,” Juma Andrew, a 35-year-old taxi driver, said in an interview from Dar es Salaam, the country’s commercial hub, before the election. Rivals are “fresh, but they aren’t ready to govern.” Voting stations opened just after 7 a.m. local time in the city.
Kikwete has pledged to maintain fiscal policies that are expected to drive the economic growth rate to 6.5 percent this year and 6.7 percent in 2011, the IMF said on Oct. 6. That compares with average growth rates of 5 percent and 5.5 percent expected in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa in the same periods.

Graft Cases

During his first five-year term, Kikwete increased spending on roads and energy projects, using higher tax revenue and donor funding, while keeping in check government borrowing.
Critics say Kikwete’s record on fighting corruption has been marred by a failure to prosecute graft cases.
In January 2008, Kikwete fired Central Bank Governor Daudi Ballali following an irregular-payments scandal over which Prime Minister Edward Lowassa resigned. In a separate incident that year, Andrew Chenge stepped down as infrastructure development minister after being investigated in a bribery probe involving BAE Systems Plc. Ballali died in May 2008 and no government ministers were prosecuted in either of the cases.
Donors to Tanzania announced in May they planned to cut their pledges in the 2010-11 fiscal year by about $220 million to $534 million.
Tanzania is Africa’s fourth-largest gold exporter after South Africa, Ghana and Mali. Companies including Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s largest producer of the precious metal, and AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. have mines in the country.

Zanzibar Clashes

The East African nation is also the continent’s fifth- biggest exporter of coffee, after Ethiopia, Uganda, Ivory Coast and Cameroon, and the world’s sole source of tanzanite, a violet-blue precious stone.
Today’s vote will elect a president for the union of Tanzania, which includes the mainland as well as the Indian Ocean archipelago of Zanzibar. There will be a separate ballot to choose Zanzibar’s president and parliament.
On Zanzibar, clashes followed the last two elections in 2000 and 2005, after the opposition accused the island’s president, Amani Abeid Karume, and his CCM party of vote- rigging. A new power-sharing arrangement approved by Zanzibar residents in July eased concerns that there will be further clashes during this election.
About 20 million people are registered to vote in the elections. Voting stations are scheduled to close at 4 p.m. local time. Final results are expected on Nov. 2 or Nov. 3.

Recent history

To form a sole ruling party in both parts of the union, Nyerere merged TANU with the Zanzibar ruling party, the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) of Zanzibar to form the CCM (Chama cha Mapinduzi-CCM Revolutionary Party), on February 5, 1977. The merger was reinforced by principles enunciated in the 1982 union constitution and reaffirmed in the constitution of 1984.
Nyerere used the Preventive Detention Act first to suppress trade unions and then to lock up any opponents when he wanted. People disappeared and total numbers were never published, but victims are estimated at thousands. International human rights organizations such as Amnesty International campaigned against repression in Tanzania.
Nyerere introduced repressive African socialism, or Ujamaa. The government burned villages and forced people to relocate onto collective farms, which greatly disrupted agricultural efficiency and output. Tanzania turned from a nation of sustenance farmers into a nation of starving collective farmers.
Scope of the state expanded rapidly into virtually every sector. In 1967, nationalizations transformed the government into the largest employer in the country. It was involved from everything from retailing to import-export trade and even baking. This created an environment ripe for corruption.
Cumbersome bureaucratic procedures multiplied and excessive tax rates set by officials further damaged the economy.Enormous amounts of public funds were misappropriated and put to unproductive use.Purchasing power declined at an unprecedented rate and even essential commodities became unavailable. A system of permits (vibali) allowed officials to collect huge bribes in exchange for the vibali.
A foundation for systemic corruption had been laid.Officials became widely known as Wabenzi ("people of the Benz").
Nyerere's Tanzania had a close relationship with the People's Republic of China. In 1979 Tanzania declared war on Uganda after the Soviet-backed Uganda invaded and tried to annex the northern Tanzanian province of Kagera. Tanzania not only expelled Ugandan forces, but, enlisting the country's population of Ugandan exiles, also invaded Uganda itself. On April 11, 1979, Idi Amin was forced to quit the capital, Kampala, ending the Uganda-Tanzania War. The Tanzanian army took the city with the help of the Ugandan and Rwandan guerrillas. Amin fled into exile. By the mid-1979 corruption reached epidemic proportions as the economy collapsed.
Socialism left the country as one of the poorest and the least developed. Dependency on foreign aid had become one the world's highest.
In October 1985 Nyerere handed over power to Ali Hassan Mwinyi, but retained control of the ruling party, Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), as Chairman until 1990, when he handed that responsibility to Mwinyi. In 1990 a coalition of ethnic and cultural groups of Zanzibar demanded a referendum on independence. They declared that the merger with the mainland Tanzania, based on the now dead ideology of socialism, had transformed Zanzibar from a bustling economic power to a poor, neglected appendage. Their demands were neglected.
However, the ruling party comfortably won the elections amid widespread irregularities and its candidate Benjamin William Mkapa was subsequently sworn in as the new president of Tanzania in the country's ever multi-party election on 23 November 1995. Contested elections in late 2000 led to a massacre in Zanzibar in January 2001, with the government shooting into crowds of protesters, killing 35 and injuring 600. In December 2005, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete was elected the 4th president for a five-year term.
One of the deadly 1998 U.S. embassy bombings occurred in Dar Es Salaam; the other was in Nairobi, Kenya. In 2004, the undersea earthquake on the other side of the Indian Ocean caused tsunamis along Tanzania's coastline in which 11 people were killed. An oil tanker also temporarily ran aground in the Dar Es Salaam harbour, damaging an oil pipeline.
In 2008, a power surge cut off power to Zanzibar, resulting in the 2008 Zanzibar Power blackout.

Independence and Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar

In 1954, Julius Nyerere, a school teacher who was then one of only two Tanganyikans educated to university level, organized a political party—the Tanganyika African National Union (TANU). On December 9, 1961, Tanganika became an autonomous Commonwealth realm, and Nyerere became Prime Minister, under a new constitution. On December 9, 1962, a republican constitution was implemented with Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere as Tanganyika's first president.

Zanzibar received its independence from the United Kingdom on December 19, 1963, as a constitutional monarchy under the sultan. On January 12, 1964, the African majority revolted against the sultan and a new government was formed with the ASP leader, Abeid Karume, as President of Zanzibar and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council.
In the first few days, between 5,000 and 15,000 Arabs and Asians were murdered, their women raped, and their homes burned. Within a few weeks, a fifth of the population had died or fled.
It was at this time that the Tanganyika army revolted and Britain was asked by Julius Nyerere to send in troops. Royal Marines; Commandos were sent by air from England via Nairobi and 40 Commando came ashore from the aircraft carrier HMS Bulwark. Several months were spent in Commandos touring the country disarming military outposts. When the successful operation ended, the Royal Marines left to be replaced by Canadian troops.
On April 26, 1964, Tanganyika united with Zanzibar to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. The country was renamed the United Republic of Tanzania on October 29 of that year. The name Tanzania is a portmanteau of Tanganyika and Zanzibar and previously had no significance. Under the terms of this union, the Zanzibar Government retains considerable local autonomy.