As published by THE GUARDIAN few hours ago.. Mixed reaction to ZEC move on Zanzibar polls US urges electoral commission to rescind annulment order

The United States has called upon the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) to reconsider the decision to nullify the results of the Zanzibar presidential election, saying the poll was held in an orderly and peaceful manner as declared by observers.

 

 

 ZEC chairman Jecha Salum Jecha

 

A terse statement issued by the US Embassy in Dar es Salam yesterday says the United States government was “gravely alarmed” by the ZEC’s  chairman’s announcement of an intention to nullify the results.

 

ZEC made the announcement, citing what it described as a number of shortfalls in the conduct of the poll that had also contributed to delay in the compilation and announcement of the results.

 

“This action (announcement of cancellation of the poll results) halted an orderly and peaceful election, as evaluated by observer missions from the US Embassy, European Union, Commonwealth, and Southern Africa Development Community, and a tabulation process nearing completion,” the US said in the statement.

 

“We call for this announcement to be recalled, and urge all parties to maintain a commitment to a transparent and peaceful democratic process.  The people of Zanzibar deserve that,” it added.

 

According to ZEC chairman Jecha Salum Jecha, the “shortfalls” included differences among ZEC members, with some having turned representatives of their respective parties.

 

He also cited “a number of irregularities, especially in Pemba”, with the number of votes cast at some polling stations exceeding that of voters registered for the election.

 

“Basing on these factors, as ZEC Chairman I am satisfied that the election was not fair and was marred by gross violations of laws and election regulations. Therefore, I declare that the election and its results have been nullified and there is a need of holding a fresh election,” said Jecha.

 

Lawyer Francis Stolla, immediate past President of the Tanganyika Law Society, said that the ZEC decision would have no impact on the Union presidential election results “because Zanzibar elections are not a Union matter”.

 

He said elections relating to the Zanzibar president and Members of the House of Representatives are “solely and purely a matter for ZEC to handle”.

Stolla explained that ZEC acted as an agent for the National Electoral Commission (NEC) in the Isles with respect to the election of the Union president “but it has no authority to invalidate the Union election results”.

 

He however said NEC could nullify the results of the Union presidential election if it discovered that its conduct had irregularities.

 

Stolla also argued that the ZEC annulment decision infringed on democratic practice “especially where only minor irregularities have been reported”.

Another law guru, Prof Chris Peter Maina, meanwhile said the (ZEC) decision would occasion a big loss to the government and taxpayers “considering the huge costs incurred on preparing for an election whose results have now been nullified”.

 

He argued that outgoing Zanzibar President Dr Ali Mohamed Shein, who is seeking re-election on the CCM ticket, would now be required to convene an emergency House of Representatives meeting to endorse the extension of his presidential term until a new president is elected and sworn in.

 

He recommended that ZEC take legal action against any   commissioners who had occasioned the annulment by flouting election rules and regulations.

“ZEC was supposed to take immediate action against all those who violated the relevant laws instead of nullifying the results … I think the commission did not abide by laid down laws by not noticing and reporting the irregularities early enough,” said Prof Maina.

 

He concurred with Stolla, saying the electorate would lose confidence in ZEC “since the taxpayers’ money lost could have been be channelled into other development projects”.

 

In another development, advocate Fatma Karume intimated to The Guardian exclusively yesterday that she had read the Zanzibar Constitution of 1984, Zanzibar’s Election Act of 1984 plus the Elections Regulations of 2015, “and I can confidently tell you that the Zanzibar Electoral Commission has no powers to nullify the elections”. 

 

“Not only that but also the ZEC’s Chairman has no such powers to nullify the elections…the Chairman (Jecha Salum Jecha) acted unlawfully, or he might have acted under duress,” she noted, adding: “From my understanding as a lawyer, elections in Zanzibar have never been nullified… If it’s under duress, then that’s something else.”

 

Meanwhile, the Civic United Front (CUF) has rejected as untenable the decision by the ZEC to nullify the presidential results, similarly arguing that the commission had no mandate to do so.

 

The party called upon ZEC to proceed with the release of the results “and finally announce the winners without being influenced by the government”.

CUF Secretary General Seif Shariff Hamad, who is also Zanzibar First Vice President and the party’s presidential candidate, told journalists in Zanzibar yesterday that the government under CCM would be well advised to stop interfering with ZEC activities.

 

According to Hamad, CUF was “shocked and saddened by ZEC’s decision, which is against Zanzibar’s Constitution and electoral laws”.

“The ZEC decision is based on a personal statement because not even one meeting on the matter was held between us and members of the commission,” he said, also declaring that the ZEC chairman was “incompetent to nullify the election results”.

 

“It seems that there was a conspiracy to undermine democratic practice in Zanzibar, while this could fuel chaos,” he said, adding that it appeared that the ZEC chairman “is not aware that the decision will also affect the Union elections as registered voters in question are based on both sides of Tanzania”.

Hamad argued that the decision would cause unnecessary anxiety “because the Union president cannot be elected by mainland Tanzania voters alone”.

Associating the ZEC decision with “CCM defeat in the election”, he urged the international community and “friends of Tanzania”, especially international election observers now in the country, to intervene because they knew the facts on the ground.

 

Hamad said the results now nullified were released and approved by ZEC from different polling stations and had shown that CUF was leading in the presidential race in 18 constituencies on Pemba Island and nine in Unguja.

 

National Reconstruction Alliance Zanzibar presidential candidate Seif Ali Idd condemned the ZEC decision, saying the commission should have invited all party candidates and discussed the matter before nullifying the results.

JAHAZI Asilia Zanzibar presidential candidate Kassim Bakar Ali concurred, saying Zanzibar “has shown the world that it has failed to respect democracy and the rights of the majority”.

 

He said the move is not fair as contenting political parties had spent massive amounts of money on campaigns, adding: “We also condemn the move because we were not contacted before the decision was made.”

 

NEC Chairman retired Judge Damian Lubuva said vote counting and release of poll results would continue in mainland Tanzania, noting that there were no problems reported from Zanzibar so far with respect to the Union presidential and parliamentary elections.

 

He said the two elections were governed by separate laws: in mainland Tanzania it was the country’s 1977 Constitution that applied, while in the Isles the relevant piece of legislation was the 1984 Zanzibar Constitution.

“We are going on with the vote counting. So far, we have received and announced all Union presidential results from Zanzibar,” he noted.

 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN