2010 Election registration it became chaos in Pemba Island

By Citizen Correspodent, Pemba

The chaos that hit the registration of voters in Pemba island on Tuesday, took a new turn yesterday after police shot and injured two rioting supporters of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF).

The ugly incident forced Zanzibar Electoral Commission officials in the field to suspend the registration of voters in Ole constituency.

The chaos started at Kambini registration centre in Ole after ZEC officials haulted registration activities at Mjini Kiuyu and Kiuyu Minungwini earlier in the day, citing insecurity.

Talking to The Citizen from Pemba yesterday, Wete CUF district secretary Riziki Omar Juma, claimed that police officers shot and injured Ally Bakari Hassan and Hashim Ally, both in their early 20s.

Until late afternoon yesterday, the injured youths were still held by police for interrogated over the incident.

Several irregularities had been reported since the registration exercise started last month, with CUF leaders and supporters claiming existence of clandestine plans to sideline CUF members from being registered.

CUF leaders claim that whereas 12-year-old boys believed to be CCM supporters had been registered, but thousands of CUF supporters have been refused registration for not having Zanzibari identity cards.

It is claimed that many CUF supporters could not access the IDs because local leaders, shehas, denied them forms which had to be filled for one to obtain the IDs.

One Ms Juma, who is also a Special Seats MP for the party, said since morning yesterday, scores of police officers were deployed at all registration centres to maintain law and order.

She said later, the regional commissioner for Pemba South, Mr Faki Dadi, in the company of Wete OCD and policemen arrived at Kiuyu Minungwini registration station and arrested the two youths and began beating them.

Ms Juma said ZEC officials closed the centre and the RC asked her (the MP) to calm down her party's supporters, but the MP refused to do so fearing police bullets which flying around.

The chairman of CUF in Ole constituency, Mr Rashid Hamad, condemned the way the police had handled the volatile situation, they should not have shot at the crowd.

"The two youths were arrested while walking on the street, and not at the registration centre," he claimde.

The North Pemba regional police commander, Mr Yahaya Bugi, confirmed that his officers fired into the air to disperse rioting CUF youths.

However, ZEC chairman Habib Mwinchande, said they were forced to terminate the exercise in Ole because of growing insecurity.

"We will continue with our schedule in other areas because since Monday we have been spending public funds, when no one has been registered we can