AN OPPOSITION presidential candidate in Zanzibar detained as he attempted to cast his ballot in advanced voting has been freed, after nine people were shot dead by security forces on the eve of elections in the semi-autonomous archipelago and mainland Tanzania, according to his party.
The ACT-Wazalendo party said in a statement on Tuesday that its candidate for Zanzibar’s presidency, Seif Sharif Hamad, was detained at a polling station after going to vote early. The party tweeted later in the day that their leader had been released.
It also said nine people had been shot dead by security forces since Monday.
Eight died on the island of Pemba, it said, after clashes between security forces and people who had been trying to stop the army distributing ballot boxes on Monday which they suspected contained pre-ticked votes.
ACT-Wazalendo said police fired tear gas at the demonstrators and then “resorted to live
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