[Update] Ruling party candidate wins Zanzibar re-run election by 91.4%

The incumbent Zanzibar President Ali Mohamed Shein, of Tanzania’s ruling CCM party, was declared the winner of the re-run presidential election by the electoral commission on Monday.

BREAKING: CCM win more than 90% of vote in #Zanzibar poll. Dr.Shein elected as President. ADC 2nd with 3% of vote. pic.twitter.com/GyCJjxFo6j

— CCTV Africa (@cctvnewsafrica) March 21, 2016

Sunday’s election was a re-run of a disputed election held on October 25 that was annulled by Zanzibar’s electoral authority on grounds of fraud.

The opposition contested the decision to hold another vote, saying it had won the first vote.

President Ali Mohamed Shein was declared the winner with 91.4 percent of the vote, the electoral commission said.

Update: Western nations ‘regret’ rerun of polls
Meanwhile, a group of Western diplomats have said that they regretted the decision for the Zanzibar poll re-run.

In a statement they issued, the diplomats said; “In order to be credible, electoral processes must be inclusive and truly representative of the will of the people.”

Statement on Election Re-run in #Zanzibar from a group of Ambassadors and High Commissioners accredited to #Tanzania pic.twitter.com/v6q5XOBuCX

— Fionnuala Gilsenan (@FGilsenanIRL) March 21, 2016

They called on the Government of Tanzania, ‘‘to excercise leadership in Zanzibar, and pursue a negotiated solution between parties, with a view to maintaining peace and unity in the United Republic of Tanzania.’‘

The diplomats representing fifteen countries including the UK, US, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, were joined by the European Union to commend the people of Zanzibar for remaining calm and peaceful during the rerun.

Reuters