Hamad in India for treatment, but govt in the dark

Seif Shariff Hamad, secretary general of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) party

 As the March 20 date for Zanzibar’s anxiously-awaited general election rerun draws closer, the seeds of intrigue continued to grow as the Revolutionary Government said it wasn’t aware of first vice president Seif Shariff Hamad’s reported trip to India for medical treatment.

 

Hamad is secretary general of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) party which believes he was well ahead of incumbent Isles president Dr Ali Mohamed Shein of the ruling CCM when the original election was controversially scrapped midway by Zanzibar Electoral Committee (ZEC) chairman  Jecha Salim Jecha last October. 

 

CUF communications officer Hisham Abdulkadir confirmed to The Guardian here yesterday that Hamad had decided to make the detour to India while on his way back home from a trip to a number of European countries.

 

“It is a normal checkup,” Hisham asserted, without disclosing what type of ailment was troubling the bona fide CUF boss or which hospital was treating him.

 

But according to the permanent secretary in the Isles Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Mohamed Saleh Jiddawi, the ministry had no knowledge of Hamad’s Indian sojourn although it was responsible for issuing permits and making logistical arrangements for all former and serving top revolutionary government officials going abroad for medical check-ups or treatments.

 

“My office has not received any information regarding this particular part of his current journey out of the country, and therefore I cannot comment on it,” Jiddawi said.

 

After ZEC chairman Jecha announced March 20 as the date for the election rerun some weeks ago, CUF officials declared that the party  would boycott the poll this time around over fears that it wont be free and fair.

 

Hamad himself was quoted as saying that a re-run of the election could lead to chaos and confusion among Zanzibaris, and also cause a constitutional and legal crisis in the semi-autonomous island archipelago.

 

“CCM is pushing for the rerun simply because it (CCM) wants to protect its political interests after having lost in October,” he stated.

 

Members of the diplomatic corps in Tanzania have also criticized the idea of a polls rerun in Zanzibar amid a possible “escalation of intimidation and tensions” throughout the Isles, calling instead for a “peaceful solution” to the impasse.

 

At the time of the controversial election annulment last October, diplomats from at least 15 nations accredited to Tanzania expressed concern that ZEC (Jecha) had made the decision "without providing evidence to substantiate (the) claim that irregularities had taken place."

 

Zanzibar, historically a political hotbed, has experienced increasing sectarian and political tensions in recent years, with the unrest affecting the islands' key tourism industry.