Tanzania is renowned for peace and national unity among its diverse ethnic, religious and racial groups. Zanzibar has been a semiautonomous part of Tanzania since 1964. However, in contrast to the mainland, its politics have been marred by intense competition waged on the basis of race, which has led to violence and unrest. This paper, published in African Identities, attempts to understand why elites in Zanzibar resort to using racial identity for political gain. It also draws out the implications of identity politics for democratic consolidation in Zanzibar and Tanzania as whole.
Since Tanzania’s return to multiparty democracy, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) has won power both on the mainland and on Zanzibar in the three rounds of elections held in 1995, 2000 and 2005. On Zanzibar, in 1995 and 2000, the major opposition party, the Civic United Front (CUF), refused to recognise the victory of their opponents. Observers announced that the elections were not free and fair due to voter intimidation, fraud, vote rigging and partisanship of the electoral body. Even the results of the comparatively peaceful elections in 2005 were contested, both between the parties and among observers. Some of these troubled elections have been accompanied by sporadic violence, such as the killing of 30 people during demonstrations against the election results in 2000.
It is the distinctive character of the state that makes it appealing for elites to politicise racial identities in order to claim legitimacy to rule.
- Apart from control of the state, two more things are at stake in Zanzibar: the identity of the state (whether it is an Arab or African state) and the sovereignty of the state (Zanzibar versus the Union).
- It is stiff competition between two major political parties that brings to the fore these unresolved contradictions in the Zanzibar state.
The implications of competing political identities for democratic consolidation are as follows:
- Elections have become an instrument to maintain state power. Exclusion of voters on the basis of their identity has been a recurring theme in both registration and voting processes. These practices undermine democratic consolidation.
- Citizens support for democracy in Zanzibar is low, especially when compared with the mainland. Many continue to support the old one-party system.
- Since 1995, CUF has been the leading opposition party with the highest number of seats in the Union parliament. However, the majority of its seats are derived from Zanzibar, and in the 2005 elections it won no seats on the mainland. CUF’s electoral performance can partly be explained by the increased politicisation of ethno-racial identities during election times.
- The Zanzibar government has become increasingly assertive in demands for increased political autonomy. As a result, the Union government is being compelled to make significant concessions.
