ZANZIBAR ELECTORAL SYSTEM

Legal basis

Constitution of Zanzibar 1984.

Election Act 1984.

Zanzibar Municipal Council Act 1995.

District and Town Councils Act 1995.

Electoral system

Parliamentary Elections: Single member plurality, first-past-the-post system of multiparty elections.

Presidential Elections: popular vote, plurality.

Election period

Presidential and parliamentary elections every 5 years, concurrent with Union elections.

Electoral institutions Zanzibari Electoral Commission (ZEC).

Director of Elections.

Functions of electoral institutions ZEC: Responsible for constituency delimitation, voter registration, conduct of elections and publication of results.

Director of Elections: Executive arm of the ZEC.

Independence of electoral institutions Members of the ZEC are appointed by the President and may be removed for failing to discharge duties or misconduct. The ZEC is not obliged to accept instructions from any external body.

Delimitation of constituencies

The ZEC reviews delimitation every 10 years. There are 50 constituencies.

Voter registration and voters' rolls

The ZEC is responsible for establishing a permanent voters' register.

Voter education

The ZEC is tasked by law with voter training and education.

Nomination of candidates

Parliamentary: A candidate must be proposed by a political party, pay a deposit and have the nomination endorsed by 25 voters in the constituency.

Presidential Elections: A candidate must be proposed by a political party, pay a deposit and have the nomination endorsed by 200 voters

Funding of political parties Parties represented in the House of Representatives are funded in proportion to the number of seats held. Private fundraising is not regulated.

Election campaign

No code of conduct for political parties was in place during the 2000 election16]. The Campaign meetings are prohibited at places of education and worship.

Communication The ZEC issues directives with the force of law to state media to provide equal opportunities for parties.

Counting After the close of the poll the ballot boxes are sealed by the presiding officer and candidates and the votes are counted and the results are returned to the returning officer for summation.

Announcement of results The returning officer summates the results submitted by the presiding officer and publishes/announces the final results publicly. The retuning officer then submits the results to the ZEC who publishes them in the government Gazette.

Conflict resolution

The constitution prohibits enquiry by the courts into "anything done by the Electoral Commission in performance of its functions". The Electoral Act provides for other petitions to be heard by the High Court.

Election observation

National and international observers are accredited by the ZEC and issued with Guidelines governing accreditation and observation and that includes a Code of Conduct.