| EU pledges support for fair poll | Send to a friend |
| Tuesday, 30 November 2010 22:30 |
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Citizen Reporter Zanzibar. Four European Union (EU) member countries’ ambassadors have pledged assistance to Zanzibar to ensure the forthcoming General Election in the Isles is free and fair. Speaking during their visit to the Isles yesterday, the envoys said that they were determined to see that the October election provided an opportu nity to improve democracy in Zanzibar. They made the remarks after they met the Civic United Front (CUF) secretary general, Mr Seif Shariff Hamad, for a brief on political development here. Head of the EU delegasador Tim Clack, said the EU was ready to assist Zanzibar sustain reconciliation between the two main rival political parties to end the hostilities. He said EU would not like to be seen as a stumbling block in the implementation of agreements between Chama Cha Mapinduzi and CUF, which have culminated in the change of the constitution to allow for the formation of an inclusive government. Mr Clack said EU assistance was urgently needed to allow Zanzibar to ensure the agreements resulted into peaceful post election situation. Belgium ambassador Paul Jensen, who chaired the talks, said the EU would ensure that Zanzibar does not return to past hostile politics, a situation which has taken several years to address. CUF’s Seif Sharif Hamad said it was after their official talks at the State House in Isles yesterday. His party’s wish that Zanzibaris were given the freedom to choose their leaders. He expressed hope that the prevailing tranquillity was encouraging, providing a scenario very different from the previous elections. He, however, cited challenge ahead as registration of voters, noting that there were about 1,500 people who had been denied registration He said President Karume has directed authorities to register all qualified vot- ers, but some officials refused to heed Mr Karume’s directive. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
