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Zanzibar approves power-sharing in referendum

  1. Posted on Sunday 1 August 2010 - 15:29
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    By Ryekolal Raphie, AfricaNews reporter in Kampala, Uganda
    Zanzibar-August 1, 2010 - Zanzibar has opted to enshrine power-sharing in the constitution in a bid to end decades of crippling political feuds, according referendum results released Sunday.

    The Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) announced that two thirds of the semi-autonomous Tanzanian territory's voters approved the idea of a coalition government being formed after the upcoming October 31 polls.

    The "yes" vote, supported by both the ruling CCM and the opposition CUF parties, mustered 66.4 percent while the "no" vote took 33.4 percent in the referendum held on Saturday.

    Tallying from polling stations on the two islands of Unguja and Pemba lasted through the night and official results were announced at a central results center set up in a hotel in the capital Stone Town.

    The referendum will bring an amendment to the constitution to create two vice-president positions to be split between the parties that come first and second in parliamentary polls.But the ZEC chairman Khatib Mwinyichande said,"With these results, there is no loser and there is no winner. Let us believe that we have all won".

    Youth groups celebrated the result of the referendum in the streets of Stone Town on Sunday, waving flags to the effigy of President Amani Karume as well as the colours of the CUF.

    Zanzibar declared independence on January 12, 1964 after a revolution that ended several centuries of rule by Arab sultans and three months later, it merged with mainland Tanganyika to form the United Republic of Tanzania.
    End

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