The government of Zanzibar said on Tuesday that it would not allow other countries to review the voters registration process as it would violate Zanzibar's sovereignty.

In a statement broadcast at radio and television, Ali Juma Shamuhuna, minister of state in the Chief Minister's Office said that the Zanzibar government had decided to take such an action after getting doubtful about agendas of review orchestrated by opposition parties and donor countries.

Zanzibar saw no reason in sending the voters register for monitoring in other countries as the time remaining prior to this year's general elections is very short, the official said.

The election day for Tanzania's third multiparty general elections is set for October 30.

He added that to allow outside institutions to review the Zanzibar voters register means the isles' elections would be run by outside institutions and no free country in this world would allow such things to happen.

"Zanzibar is a free nation and not a colony of any country," the official said, adding "Zanzibar is not to be humiliated by any such means."

Zanzibar, however, had contracted through tender South Africa's Waymark Information Technology Company to review the isles' voters register due to poor management capacity.

But the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZZC) will finance all electoral activities instead of relying on donors so as to avoid causing misunderstanding that donor countries are interfering with the commission.

The Zanzibar government has instructed the ZZC to correct any mistake in the permanent voter registration.

The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party and the country's major opposition party Civic United Front that takes its power base in Zanzibar have been accusing each other of rigging the voters registration process in Zanzibar.

The Civic United Front party is accusing the Zanzibar Electoral Commission of rigging the registered names of eligible voters so as to ensure the ruling party win the elections in Zanzibar again.

On October 30, Zanzibar is to elect through popular votes both the president of the United Republic of Tanzania and the president of Zanzibar, a part of the united republic yet with its own president, cabinet and parliament.

Source: Xinhua