Zanzibar vows to maintain national unity government

ISSA YUSSUF in Zanzibar

THE Minister of the State in Second Vice-President Office, Mr Mohamed Aboud.

THE Minister of the State in Second Vice-President Office, Mr Mohamed Aboud, has said that despite threats from the main opposition party to boycott the upcoming elections, people should not worry about the future of the Government of National Unity (GNU).

“GNU is for the people, and they are free to decide its future. Therefore, the absence of the main opposition party will not affect the system because there are other political parties which can replace it,” Mr Aboud said.

His comments were in response to views by some people that GNU faces imminent collapse after March 20, the date set for the election re-run following threat to boycott the polls by the Civic United Front (CUF).

CUF leaders, led by its candidate Mr Seif Sharif Hamad, have all along insisted that they have decided to boycott the fresh elections because it is against the Zanzibar Constitution.

“Real elections were held on October 25, 2015 in which CUF won both the presidency and majority seats in the House,” said Mr Hamad. However, Mr Aboud, on behalf of the government and the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC), stated that preparations for the fresh elections were in top gear and that voters in the Isles should prepare for peaceful elections.

ZEC Chairman Mr Jecha Salim Jecha nullified the general elections in Zanzibar last October, saying it was tainted by fraud, prompting him to call for fresh polls next month.

Mr Jecha said that all the candidates from 14 political parties, who took part in the nullified polls, qualify for the fresh polls. Meanwhile, CUF’s Deputy Secretary General, Mr Nassor Ahmed Mazrui, has dismissed as baseless reports in the social media that Mr Hamad, currently in India for health checks, has undergone major surgery.

“The widely circulated reports are mere rumours from CUF enemies. Mr Hamad is still in India and may pass through other countries before returning home,” Mr Mazrui said, adding that the opposition leader’s medical plan requires him to travel to India for a further check-up every six months.

There are other reports that Mr Hamad has already left India and was now in Oman