African Union Commission Chairperson approves the deployment of an election expert mission to observe the re-run elections in Zanzibar – the semi-autonomous region of the United Republic of Tanzania

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Her Excellency Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, has approved the deployment of a team of six (6) election experts to follow the re-run elections in Zanzibar scheduled on 20 March 2016.

It could be recalled that Zanzibar held Presidential and Parliamentary elections on 25 October 2015 but Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) annulled the results over vote rigging claims. The main opposition Civic United Front (CUF) presidential candidate rejected the decision of ZEC and declared himself the winner of the presidential election, thus leading the region into a political stalemate and prompting fears of violence.

In line with its mandate, the African Union Commission is deploying an election expert mission to Zanzibar to ensure that the re-run elections are peaceful, credible and meet AU standards for democratic elections. The expert mission will be deployed from 17 to 25 March 2016.