Zanzibar – The semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar begins its general election today, October 28, 2025, with a contentious early voting process for security personnel and election officials.
The main election day is scheduled for October 29, when over 700,000 registered voters will cast their ballots for the President of Zanzibar, members of the House of Representatives, and local councillors.
The early voting, held across 50 special polling stations, has been a focal point of political tension between the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and the main opposition party, ACT-Wazalendo.
While the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) maintains that the process is a logistical necessity, ACT-Wazalendo has raised serious concerns about its potential for fraud.
Incumbent President Hussein Mwinyi of CCM is seeking a second term, facing a strong challenge from Othman Masoud Othman, the First Vice President and ACT-Wazalendo’s presidential candidate.
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The two parties are partners in a Government of National Unity (GNU), a power-sharing arrangement established in 2010 to mitigate the islands’ history of volatile and disputed elections.
ACT-Wazalendo had initially voiced strong objections to the early voting, alleging that the voter lists were inflated and lacked transparency. The party also questioned the security of the ballots.
However, after negotiations with electoral authorities, an agreement was reached to review the voter lists and to count the early ballots immediately after polling, with results shared with party agents but not publicly announced until after the main election.
“After sitting with the country’s authorities, we have agreed on two things,” Othman said in a YouTube broadcast Monday.
“First, that the list will be carefully reviewed so that only those who are involved in early voting will vote early, and second, that after this early vote is cast, the votes will be counted, everyone will know the results, but these results will not be announced.”
Zanzibar has a history of politically charged and often contentious elections. The power-sharing Government of National Unity was established through a 2010 referendum as a mechanism to ease tensions between the long-ruling CCM and the opposition.
READ MORE: ZEC Clears 11 Candidates for 2025 Zanzibar Presidential Race
The upcoming election is seen as a crucial test for the stability of this arrangement and the democratic maturity of the islands.
The main election on October 29 will see 717,557 registered voters cast their ballots across 50 constituencies. The finalised voter register shows a slight female majority, with women comprising 53 per cent of the electorate.
The election is being closely watched by local and international observers, given Zanzibar’s strategic importance and its history of political instability.
