Tanzanian journalist Issa Yusuf reports from Zanzibar on the October 30th presidential and parliamentary elections, as the campaign enters its homestretch. The campaign has been marred by sporadic violence between supporters of the ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi and the opposition Civic United Front.
To date, nearly 200 people have been wounded in pre-election violence. Mr. Yusuf attributes the clashes to two factors: impassioned differences between the two parties’ supporters and the threat the CUF poses to ending the CCM’s hold on power. Mr. Yusuf says – as is true of many other African countries – the opposition complains it gets little or no access to the state media, while the ruling party enjoys unlimited coverage.
The CUF is confidently predicting victory on October 30th and vows a Ukraine-style revolution if it believes the vote is stolen. The Tanzanian journalist says the government takes the CUF threat seriously and that it vows to counter any opposition action disruptive of public security. Mr. Yusuf spoke from Zanzibar with English to Africa reporter Ashenafi Abedje.
