The main opposition party boycotted a re-run of presidential and legislative elections in Tanzania's semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar on March 20th, 2016.
The election rerun took place after the Zanzibar Election Commission (ZEC) controversially annulled the results of the first election in October.
On March 21st, The High Commissioners and Ambassadors to Tanzania of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, issued the following joint statement regarding the election re-run:
“We regret the Zanzibar Electoral Commission’s decision to hold a re-run of the 25 October 2015 election, without a mutually acceptable and negotiated solution to the current political impasse.
“In order to be credible, electoral processes must be inclusive and truly representative of the will of the people.
“We reiterate our call on the Government of Tanzania to exercise leadership in Zanzibar, and to pursue a negotiated solution between parties, with a view to maintaining peace and unity in the United Republic of Tanzania.
“We commend once again the population of Zanzibar for having exercised calm and restraint throughout this process, and call on all parties and their supporters to re-start the national reconciliation process to find an inclusive, sustainable and peaceful resolution.”
The United States stands with its international partners in support of an inclusive, mutually acceptable resolution to the current political impasse.
