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DAR ES SALAAM. — Tanzania’s ruling party presidential candidate took an early lead yesterday as election officials counted votes for a second day, while several key ministers lost their seats. The polls are expected to be Tanzania’s tightest election race ever, with the governing party facing the first major challenge to its dominance in decades. Amid growing tension, the election commission called for calm and warned only it can declare results.

“People should ignore announcements by other institutions and individuals,” National Electoral Commission (NEC) head Damian Lubuva told reporters. The opposition Chadema party has alleged rigging in Sunday’s presidential, general and local elections. In Zanzibar, the semi-autonomous archipelago which also voted for its own leader, the main opposition presidential candidate declared himself the winner on Monday, ahead of any official announcement of results.

Police on the Indian Ocean islands fired tear gas to break up crowds, while foreign embassies warned visitors to the popular tourist destination to avoid large crowds. Zanzibar police chief Hamdan Omar said they had had “problems with some groups attempting to organise illegal demonstrations”, and were “investigating reports” people had been shot and wounded in clashes on Monday.

In the national presidential race, John Magufuli of the long-ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) is seen as the narrow favourite to beat ex-prime minister Edward Lowassa, a CCM stalwart who recently defected to Chadema, which is heading a coalition of opposition parties.

With just 10 percent of districts counted, Magufuli took an early lead, winning over 455,454 votes compared to Lowassa’s 308 240 votes, from 27 out of 260 constituencies. Agriculture minister Stephen Wasira — a veteran CCM politician of over three decades — lost his seat to Chadema. “This shows the potential of our young candidates — Wasira had been minister and in parliament for over 30 years but he lost to a young lady, Ester Bulaya,” said top Chadema official John Mrema.

Other ousted CCM heavyweights include investment minister Christopher Chiza, deputy health minister Stephen Kebwe and deputy education minister Anna Kilango. Analysts have warned that the unusually tight race could spark tensions, with the opposition providing the first credible challenge to the CCM since the introduction of multi-party democracy in 1995. — AFP.