Tanzania facing aid freeze over Zanzibar stalemate
Despite threats by the donor community to suspend aid,
there are indications that the Zanzibar Electoral
Commission (ZEC) will
proceed with the rerun of the presidential election
next month.
Foreign diplomats have criticised the ZEC for nullifying
the October 25 election and announcing a rerun even
though the Vienna Convention
prohibits diplomats from engaging in local politics.
Hanne-Marie Kaarstad, the Norwegian ambassador to
Tanzania, visited the Civic United
Front (CUF) offices in Zanzibar and held talks with
party officials.
The previous week, Ms Kaarstad along with 16
ambassadors and high commissioners issued a joint
statement on the rerun of the Zanzibar elections that
had been judged as credible by observers.
The diplomats said they were concerned about the
nullification by ZEC without having provided
evidence to substantiate the claim that irregularities had
taken place.
“We regret that an election rerun was announced
while dialogue between parties was still
ongoing,” the statement said. “For the benefit of all
Tanzanians, we reaffirm our belief that the
current political impasse in Zanzibar would be best
addressed through a mutually acceptable
and negotiated solution.”
And just two days after Ms Kaarstad’s visit, Minister
for Foreign Affairs Augustine Mahiga
was quoted as saying that the government will now
vet all activities that the diplomatic corps
plans to hold with leaders of political parties, as was
indicated in a circular the minister said was
issued last month.
READ: Tanzania issues tough rules for diplomats’ local
movement Tanzania has previously faced the risk of having
development assistance suspended due to
political situations or scandals.
In 1998, the European Union froze development aid
worth about $10 million to the Isles for three
years, in protest against alleged gross human-rights
violations following the controversial 1995
election in which Salmin Amour (CCM) won the Isles
presidency by a narrow margin.
The board of the Millennium Challenge Corporation has
withheld funding to Tanzania, citing the Zanzibar crisis
as one factor.
Nick Branson, a senior researcher at the London-
based Africa Research Institute, said the
comments made by the ambassadors showed
their commitment to a negotiated solution to the
Zanzibar impasse.
He said other donors may be considering reducing their
grants.
“Where Tanzania could pay a political cost is if travel
advisories are issued by Western nations.
Western nations could advise their citizens against
travelling to Zanzibar, resulting in lost
income for the exchequer and the people of Zanzibar.
This will only compound the economic difficulties facing
the Isles,” Mr Branson said. No resolution
Attempts by the international community to resolve the
matter have been unsuccessful so
far, as former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan,
who led the Commonwealth’s mission, was not taken
seriously as a mediator despite the organisation’s
having helped the CUF and CCM reach an agreement
after the 1995 and 2000 elections.
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