Large turn-out at Tanzanian polls: survey

A large turn-out for Wednesday's general elections in Tanzania has been found by local media surveys that reported as high as 80 percent of a turn-out in one constituency.

Daniel Isara, election coordinator of the Kilimanjaro region in northern Tanzania, was quoted by local media as saying that on average 75 percent of the registered voters had turned out to vote in his region.

The Rombo district posted an 80-percent turn-out, he added.

Turn-out rates for the Mwanza and Moshi districts, both in northern Tanzania, were 70 percent while the districts of Same and Hai, also in the north of the country, scored 65 percent of turn- outs.

Local media quoted returning officers at Kisutu and Mtendeni polling stations in Dar es Salaam as saying that approximately 80 percent of the registered voters had cast their ballots.

The polling stations at Bwilingu, Magome and Mawege along the Dar es Salaam-Chalinze highway also registered turn-out rates of 70 percent.

Rajabu Kiravu, director of the Tanzania National Electoral Commission, told the media and public through a statement that the electoral body needed time to determine the exact percentage of the 15.9 million registered voters who had actually turned out to vote on Wednesday in Tanzania's third multiparty polls.

The Tanzanian general elections were postponed from October 30 to December 14 because of the death of a presidential running mate of the Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA).

Source: Xinhua