2015 Zanzibari general election

General elections were held in Zanzibar on 25 October 2015 alongside the 2015 Tanzanian general elections. Incumbent president of Zanzibar Ali Mohamed Shein was running for his second term against Zanzibar First Vice President Seif Sharif Hamad.[1]

2015 Zanzibari presidential election
25 October 2015 (2015-10-25)
 
Nominee Ali Mohamed Shein Seif Sharif Hamad
Party CCM CUF
President before election

Amani Abeid Karume
CCM

 Elected President

Ali Mohamed Shein
CCM

Following the vote, the Zanzibar election commission annulled the elections citing irregularities and a rerun was held on 20 March 2016.[2]

Candidates

Presidential Election

There were 14 candidates that qualified to run for the presidential election in 2016.[3]

Candidate Party
Khamis Idd Lila Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT)
Juma Ali Khatib Association of Farmers Party (ADA-TADEA)
Hamad Rashid Mohamed Alliance for Democratic Change (ADC)
Said Soud Said Association of Farmers Party (AFP)
Ali Mohamed Shein Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM)
Ali Khatib Ali (CCK)
Mohammed Rashid Masoud Chama cha Ukombozi wa Umma (CHAUMA)
Seif Sharif Hamad Civic United Front (CUF)
Tabu Mussa Juma Demokrasia Makini (D-Makini)
Abdulla Kombo Khamis Democratic Party (DP)
Kassim Bakari Ali Jahazi Asilia
Issa Mohammed Zonga Sauti ya Umma (SAU)
Seif Ali Iddi National Reconstruction Alliance (NRA)
Hafidh Hassan Suleiman Tanzania Labour Party (TLP)

House of Representatives Election

There were 180 candidates from various parties fighting for 54 electable seats in the Zanzibar House of Representatives.[3]

Results

The votes of the elections were annulled by the Zanzibar Election Commission, citing irregularities in the process and put forward a recommendation for a re-run that was held in 2016. However, only local Zanzibar election results were annulled, the annulment, did not affect the overall outcome of the national presidential elections, meaning that the same ballots that were disqualified for the Zanzibari election were still included in the national count.[4]

Reactions

Domestic
  • Various large opposition members mainly of the political alliance called Ukawa denounced the decision by the Election commission to annul the election, citing it was done to steal the election in favour of CCM.[5]

International
  • United States: The US Embassy in Dar es Salaam said that they were “gravely alarmed” by the annulment and requested the decision be overturned.[6]
  • : A joint statement by the Heads of Election Observer Missions in Tanzania that included members from the Commonwealth of Nations, African Union, Southern African Development Community expressed concern in the decision by the election commission of Zanzibar and requested the show increased transparency in their decision to annul the elections.[7]

References
  1. "Zanzibar annuls recent election, new vote expected". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  2. AfricaNews (2016-03-21). "[Update] Ruling party candidate wins Zanzibar re-run election by 91.4%". Africanews. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  3. "Zanzibar Election Commission History" (PDF). Zanzibar Election Commission. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  4. European, Union. "Election observation delegation to The general elections in Tanzania" (PDF).
  5. "Zanzibar Opposition's Election Boycott Could Deepen Political Crisis | Voice of America - English". www.voanews.com. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  6. Gettleman, Jeffrey (2015-10-28). "Unrest Feared as Zanzibar Local Elections Are Annulled". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  7. "International observers express concern at the situation in Zanzibar | The Commonwealth". thecommonwealth.org. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
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