§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have received a report from the 'Commonwealth Observer Group on the Zanzibar Electoral Commission's handling of the poll on 29 October; and what steps they intend taking, with other Commonwealth member states, to persuade the Zanzibar authorities to re-run the elections, as recommended by the chairman of the Observer Group, Dr Gaositewe Chiepe. [HL4509]
§ Baroness Scotland of AsthalCommonwealth and other international and local observers were unanimous in their condemnation of the organisation of the elections on 29 October, the contempt for democracy that this represented and the need to re-run the vote in all constituencies under a reformed Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC). We, with EU colleagues, criticised the decision to re-run the elections in only 16 constituencies and under the supervision of the current electoral commission in a statement issued on 3 November.
My honourable friend Peter Hain, the Foreign Office Minister repsonsible for Africa, has since spoken to the Tanzanian Foreign Minister to express 17WA our grave concerns about the situation. We will continue to press the Tanzanian authorities to find a solution to the political crisis that respects the democractic and human rights of all Zanzibaris.