Last Updated: Monday, 31 October 2005, 14:29 GMT
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Teargas fired after Zanzibar poll

 The authorities said the opposition should wait for official results

The security forces on Tanzania's Zanzibar islands have broken up a crowd of opposition supporters claiming victory in Sunday's poll.
At least five people were arrested as teargas and water cannon were fired at people singing and dancing after Muslim prayers in the capital, Zanzibar town.
Official results could be released on Monday after overnight counting.
There were sporadic clashes on election day but the extreme violence of previous polls has so far been absent.
More than 30,000 members of the security forces have been deployed in the semi-autonomous islands. Some 500,000 people were expected to cast their ballots.
Fraud claims
Opposition Civic United Front (CUF) presidential candidate Seif Hamad said he was confident of victory, despite claiming there had been fraud.
He said some 80,000 opposition supporters had not been allowed to vote, while activists of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party had been bussed into CUF strongholds.



In pictures: Zanzibar violence

These accusation were denied by officials from the Zanzibar Electoral Commission, who said the vote was "free and fair".
In elections to the 50-seat House of Representatives, the CCM has won 14 seats on the main island, while the CUF had won 19 seats - all but one on the second island of Pemba.
Government spokesman Vuai Ali Vuai was confident that the CCM would retain power.
"Our friends want to make chaos by telling the world results before they are counted ... We have great hope we will be the winner," he told Reuters news agency.
After early morning prayers on Monday, a group of CUF supporters started chanting: "Let us decorate CUF with flowers after our victory - We have defeated CCM; Bye bye CCM."
Zanzibar police commander Ramadan Kinyongo told the AFP news agency that those celebrating would "have to wait for the official announcement of the results."
Mistrust
The BBC's Karen Allen in Zanzibar says there is no independent verification of the fraud claims but it adds to a general sense of mistrust about how the polling was carried out.
ZANZIBAR AND PEMBA

Population: Nearly 1m
Area: 2,461 sq km (950 square miles)
Major languages: Kiswahili, English
Major religion: Islam
Main exports: Cloves, seaweed, coconut, copra



Tense islands geared for poll

Incumbent Amani Karume is running for a second term after winning elections in November 2000, while Mr Hamad was runner-up in Zanzibar's 1995 and 2000 presidential elections.
As well as casting their ballots for a president, voters were choosing 50 members for the legislature and 139 local councillors.
Voting on the mainland has been postponed due to the death of opposition vice-presidential candidate, Jumbe Rajab Jumbe.
Zanzibar voters will now have to wait until 18 December to vote in nationwide presidential and legislative elections.

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