The current leadership uses the power of the regime to extend their plan. The opposition had little chance for a win in Tanzania, with the governing party enjoying the use of state machinery and resources to gain the advantage in last weeks elections. Going against the wishes of the opposition, the electoral commission predicted a win early for John Magufuli, as they continually updated results while they votes were being tallied.
The elected president is in dispute with those rejecting the results over lack of clarity and regulation. This was expected to be a tight race, and was said to end with John Magufuli taking 58.4% of the vote, while Edward Lowassa won 39.9% of vote. Lowassa refused to concede and requested a recount, as he accused the ruling party of vote rigging. After the governing party chose not to nominate him as their candidate, he jumped sides to run as the opposition. Edward Lowassa was the first candidate in Tanzania’s history to have been a longtime member of the governing regime, and then run against them.
On the island of Zanzibar, protesters are not understanding about the annulment of the Zanzibar’s presidential elections. The island’s elections are separate from the elections of Tanzania, but appear to be the same result only different in who rejected the results. This would have been the first time since 1977 that the ruling party lost power in Zanzibar. The opposition was said to have won in Zanzibar, but then Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC), under the influence of the governing party canceled the election. The ZEC claims to have annulled the results due to voter fraud.
Chaos is blamed on the decision of opposition to ignore edict of electoral board. According the ZEC, there were more votes cast than registered voters. The opposition, Seif Sharif Hamad, declared himself a winner, when only the ZEC can announce election results. Due to the voided results, a new election will be held at an undetermined future date. With tensions high over disputed elections, two bombs exploded minutes apart without loss of life or casualties, but causing fear of what may be coming.
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) elections are also in disarray, mirroring the issues of the Tanzania and Zanzibar political elections. The constitution that is accused of being violated in this case revolves around the electoral board delaying elections until November 13. According to the South Coast branch, an opposing party of the current leaders of FKF, it is not within the right of the electoral board to change the election date. The opposition in this case indicated the election should take place on 10/29/15, which was expected to be the day the current leadership’s term expired. (Baber, 2015)
The Constitution should be respected, whether be it the 1984 Zanzibar Constitution, the 1977 Constitution of the Republic of Tanzania, or the FKF constitution.
Works Cited
Baber, M. (2015, 10 28). Kenyan football falls into anarchy over KPL membership and FKF elections. Retrieved 10 31, 2015, from Inside World Football: http://www.insideworldfootball.com/world-football/africa/18196-kenyan-football-falls-into-anarchy-over-kpl-membership-and-fkf-elections
The elected president is in dispute with those rejecting the results over lack of clarity and regulation. This was expected to be a tight race, and was said to end with John Magufuli taking 58.4% of the vote, while Edward Lowassa won 39.9% of vote. Lowassa refused to concede and requested a recount, as he accused the ruling party of vote rigging. After the governing party chose not to nominate him as their candidate, he jumped sides to run as the opposition. Edward Lowassa was the first candidate in Tanzania’s history to have been a longtime member of the governing regime, and then run against them.
On the island of Zanzibar, protesters are not understanding about the annulment of the Zanzibar’s presidential elections. The island’s elections are separate from the elections of Tanzania, but appear to be the same result only different in who rejected the results. This would have been the first time since 1977 that the ruling party lost power in Zanzibar. The opposition was said to have won in Zanzibar, but then Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC), under the influence of the governing party canceled the election. The ZEC claims to have annulled the results due to voter fraud.
Chaos is blamed on the decision of opposition to ignore edict of electoral board. According the ZEC, there were more votes cast than registered voters. The opposition, Seif Sharif Hamad, declared himself a winner, when only the ZEC can announce election results. Due to the voided results, a new election will be held at an undetermined future date. With tensions high over disputed elections, two bombs exploded minutes apart without loss of life or casualties, but causing fear of what may be coming.
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) elections are also in disarray, mirroring the issues of the Tanzania and Zanzibar political elections. The constitution that is accused of being violated in this case revolves around the electoral board delaying elections until November 13. According to the South Coast branch, an opposing party of the current leaders of FKF, it is not within the right of the electoral board to change the election date. The opposition in this case indicated the election should take place on 10/29/15, which was expected to be the day the current leadership’s term expired. (Baber, 2015)
The Constitution should be respected, whether be it the 1984 Zanzibar Constitution, the 1977 Constitution of the Republic of Tanzania, or the FKF constitution.
Works Cited
Baber, M. (2015, 10 28). Kenyan football falls into anarchy over KPL membership and FKF elections. Retrieved 10 31, 2015, from Inside World Football: http://www.insideworldfootball.com/world-football/africa/18196-kenyan-football-falls-into-anarchy-over-kpl-membership-and-fkf-elections
