Zanzibar - Tanzania's ruling party was formally declared the winner yesterday of elections that were declared a charade and boycotted by the opposition on the country's fractious Zanzibar islands.
The Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) said the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party had won the presidential and parliamentary polls on the semi-autonomous Indian Ocean islands.
It said the CCM's Mr Amani Karume polled 67 per cent of the 370,095 valid votes cast while CUF's Mr Seif Sharif Hamad took 33 per cent.
In Zanzibar's parliamentary elections the CCM won 34 of 50 constituencies compared to 16 seats for the CUF.
"The ZEC is satisfied with this result and declares officially Mr Amani Abeid Karume has been elected the legitimate president of Zanzibar," ZEC chairman, Mr Abdul Rahman Jumbe, said.