Mail&Guardian Online
  make this your homepage
= denotes premium content | sign in 
Tuesday, November 01, 2005 6:58 PM Africa's first online newspaper. First with the news.

SEARCH: M&G Online | The Web [ Advanced Search Options ] | enhanced by
Breaking News
Front Page
National
Africa
> Southern Africa
> North Africa
> West Africa
> East Africa
> Central Africa
> General Africa
International
Business
Sport
And in other news
Week in pictures
Jacob Zuma focus
Oilgate uncovered
News Insight
National
Africa
International
Comment & Analysis
Business
Columnists
Converse
Ten Questions
Editorials
Monitor
Krisjan Lemmer
Body Language
FRASER'S RAZOR
Obituaries
Leisure
ARTS
Wheels & Deals
Tech
Escape
Regulars
Zapiro
Madam & Eve
NewsLetters
Blogmark
Forums
Notes & Queries
Letters
Archive Search
Corrections
Games
HIV/AIDS BAROMETER
Mobile Games
Partner Sites
The Media Online
The Teacher
Business in Africa
Earthyear
Explore or escape
With the holiday season right around the corner, it's time to find your next great escape.
Find out more...

Find your match now!
I am a:
Looking for:
Age Range: to

Career search
Search South Africa's #1 job listings and career advice site.
Find me a job!

FIND

- A job
- A date
- An insurance quote
- Accommodation
- Old friends
- International flights
- Map search
- Business search

MOBILE SERVICES

- Mobile games
- News & Lotto SMS alerts
- Sport SMS alerts
- Weather SMS alerts

QUICK LINKS

- Today's weather
- Get your free blog
- Notes & Queries
- Online gambling

SERVICES

- Subscribe to M&G
- Subscription queries
- Free news for your site
- Place an advert
Africa
Zanzibar opposition chief claims victory
Beatrice Debut and Issa Maalim | Zanzibar, Tanzania
01 November 2005 11:17
Zanzibar opposition leader Seif Sharif Hamad on Tuesday claimed victory in the hotly contested race for the presidency of the semi-autonomous Tanzanian archipelago amid new clashes over weekend elections.

"Now, I know I am the winner," Seif Sharif Hamad of the Civic United Front (CUF) told reporters, citing results from Sunday's polls compiled by the opposition giving him a slight edge over incumbent President Amani Abeid Karume.

He declined to discuss details but CUF national president Ibrahim Lipumba said Hamad had won by a "very small margin" despite alleged massive vote fraud committed by Karume's ruling Revolutionary Party (CCM).

Lipumba said the CCM's attempt to steal the elections had failed but predicted the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) would still announce results giving the ruling party victory.

"We believe that our candidate has won the election despite all the attempts at rigging," he said.

"He has won by a very small margin [but] we have heard that the ZEC will announce CCM as the winner as usual."

The ZEC, which is expected to announce final results no earlier than Wednesday, has not issued any preliminary returns from the presidential race but on Tuesday said the CCM won a majority of seats in the semi-autonomous islands' Parliament.

With results from 40 of 50 constituencies in, the commission said the CCM had won 24 seats in Zanzibar's House of Representatives to the CUF's 16.

The CUF victory announcement came at a news conference called after police fired teargas at hundreds of CUF supporters outside the party's headquarters in a third straight day of clashes in Zanzibar's main city of Stone Town.

About 20 people were wounded, some overcome by acrid fumes and others hit by canisters, when riot police used teargas and stun grenades to disperse the crowd, witnesses said.

Red Cross and Médécins Sans Frontières emergency vehicles ferried some of the wounded from the scene outside the CUF office in the Darajani area of the city, where tension remained high after the melee, an Agence France Presse photographer said.

Diplomats on Unguja, the larger of Zanzibar's two main islands, said roads leading into Stone Town had been sealed off and the United States embassy in Tanzania issued a warning to Americans in the archipelago to remain indoors.

"We wish to underline that this remains a highly volatile situation that could erupt into widespread violence with no warning," it said in a notice issued late on Monday.

The alert was issued after a second day of clashes between police and oppposition supporters in which at least 13 people had been wounded, two by gunshots, before Tuesday's clashes, according to hospital officials.

The ZEC and CCM have both pronounced the elections "free and fair" and foreign observers have praised the vote as generally well run, despite the sporadic violence and opposition charges of fraud.

The CCM has dominated Tanzanian politics for more than 40 years but is facing a stiff challenge from the CUF on Zanzibar, an opposition stronghold where distrust of the mainland runs high.

Hamad claims the CCM stole the two previous multiparty elections on the islands in 1995 and 2000 and has vowed to lead mass street protests and a Ukraine-style revolution if this year's polls are rigged.

Nearly 200 people were wounded during clashes in the run-up to Sunday's elections and fears of wider unrest are high, particularly since more than 30 people were killed in violence after the last vote. - AFP
Related articles
  • Opposition leader condemns vote
  • Clashes and fraud mar Zanzibar election
  • ADVERTISING LINKS
    Incredible OUTsurance No hassle, no paper, no fuss. Get an obligation-free quote now!
    Your gadgets, cheaper, on Bid or Buy Do your shopping via online auction and get your goods for great prices
    Private Property Listings List your property with us or search for a property. No estate agent's commission
    Advertise your business here
    Talkback: Have your say about this article
    Blog: Blog this story in M&G Online's blogspot

    News on your desktop: Download & install M&G Online NewsFlash
    Daily cellphone alerts: Get news headlines by SMS
    Daily Newsletter: Get the news by email
    Africa | HOMEPAGE

    Article tools
    E-mail this story
    Print this story
    Bookmark page
    Most read stories
    RSS feed
    Javascript feed

    Online services
    FIND A JOB
    PROPERTY
    ONLINE AUCTIONS
    INT'L FLIGHTS
    B2B SERVICES
    FIND A DATE
    HOLIDAY FINDER
    FIND OLD FRIENDS
    EASY INFO
    ONLINE GAMBLING
    FREE E-MAIL
    NEWS BY E-MAIL
    LEARN FRENCH
    MAP SEARCH
    BUSINESS SEARCH
    INSURANCE
    SUBSCRIBE TO M&G
    FREE NEWS FEED
    PLACE AN ADVERT

    Mobile services
    MOBILE GAMES
    DAILY NEWS
    SPORT NEWS
    LOTTO RESULTS
    WEATHER
    MARKET INDICES

    IN THIS SECTION
    Five killed in clashes with police in Addis Ababa
    Zimbabwe's farmers lacking 'passion'
    Zim opposition talks end in deadlock
    African leaders press for UN Security Council reforms
    Switzerland to return $21m to Angola

    CONTACT US  |  ABOUT US  |  M&G HISTORY  |  SUBSCRIPTIONS  |  FREE NEWS FEED  |  ADVERTISING

    All material copyright Mail&Guardian.
    Material may not be published or reproduced in any form without prior written permission.
    Read the Mail&Guardian's privacy policy
    RSS feed JavaScript feed