Zanzibar’s Political Crisis: A Timeline

Zanzibar’s 2020 election looks set to be fiercely contested. It could also trigger another potentially violent fallout between the ruling party and opposition. Both sides cut off ties and broke channels of dialogue following the controversial annulment of the 2015 vote, which the opposition claims to have won.

A crackdown on the opposition and civil society both on the mainland and in Zanzibar by Tanzania’s president John Magufuli adds to the climate of uncertainty.

Crisis Group’s recent briefing on Zanzibar’s history of contentious, often violent elections, calls on authorities to do more to guarantee a credible vote including by dropping controversial amendments to electoral law that tilt the field further in the ruling party’s favour.