Karume names electoral commission

Zanzibari President Amani Abeid Karume's recent nominations for the new electoral commission have been met with approval by the main opposition party, but there are still concerns over elements of the electoral bill and the general pace of the implementation of the Muafaka (agreement). The formation of the new Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) was required as part of the political agreement signed between the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) following post-election violence on Zanzibar last year. Karume ignored calls from smaller opposition parties that had formed a union and had hoped to press the president into considering them in the ZEC, preferring instead the CUF's Nassor Seif Amour and Ussi Khamis Haji. "Yes, I am satisfied as the two people that we proposed are in the commission, but we will have to see if the Bill that is being debated in the House of Representatives comes out as it should be," CUF Chairman, Professor Ibrahim Lipumba, told IRIN over the weekend. Lipumba warned that problems might arise over the proposition that CCM cell leaders known as shehas should be included in the law as agents or supervisors at election posts during polling. "This would mean that we might have impartiality in the higher echelons [of the electoral commission], but on the ground, at the local level, this would not be the case," he said. "However, I think that the presidential commission overseeing the implementation of the Muafaka has convinced the president that these proposals should not be included." The opposition leader also expressed his concern over the slow pace of the implementation of the agreement, which was signed in October last year and is already running a long way behind schedule. "If we continue at this pace, we may see some problems when it comes to registering the 450,000 500,000 voters that need to be registered before next year's by elections," he cautioned. Lipumba cited "very straightforward" decisions such as the appointment of two members of CUF to the House of Representatives and the presentation of the overdue report of the investigations into the January 26/27 killings, as delays that were causing anxiety. These concerns were shared by a diplomat in Dar es Salaam, who expressed "great disappointment" at the pace of the implementation. "It is the simple decisions that are taking far too long. There don't seem to be any excuses - it just seems to be a case of people dragging their feet and, as a result, it is unlikely that the March by-elections for the 17 vacant seats are likely to be delayed," they told IRIN. Tension between the two parties rose following accusations of vote rigging during the 2000 presidential elections and culminated in violent protests on Pemba that left at least 30 CUF supporters dead.