Zanzibar under Multi-party politics

When Tanzania introduced multi-party politics, Zanzibaris were already polarized into those supporting the status quo and supporters of the opposition, who had already gathered under the KAMAHURU banner. What was missing in the opposition camp was the official name of a legitimate political party and when the law was changed, the Civic United Front (CUF) was launched without any hitch. Other political parties with their bases on the mainland attempted to solicit support in Zanzibar but they have never gone beyond the level required by law of having some members on both sides of the union in an attempt to curb the suppress cessationists. Most of the leaders of CUF were once high ranking officers in CCM and knew the system quite well. They also enjoyed the popularity of Seif Sharif Hamad, whose charisma has been a constant scare to CCM and its supporters.The 1995 elections in Zanzibar were marked by irregularities and CCM was accused of having rigged it for its own benefit. Election observers agreed the claims by the leading opposition party on the islands, the Civic United Front (CUF) and did not recognize the election results. CUF organised series of public protests and important donors for Zanzibar suspended their cooperation with Dr. Salmin's government. Dr. Salmin continued his acts of torture and harrasment of the opposition and above all, he came with a policy of segregating people who supported CUF mainly from the island of Pemba. Pembans were denied positions in government, deprived of higher education opportunities, and wherever possible their businesses were constrained by his government. His era might be over but the injustices he committed are hard to forget and for many opposition supporters in Zanzibar, it is hard to forgive him.
The 2000 elections cannot be distanced from the past elections in Zanzibar and acts of irregularities and rigging were rampant. State organs took all the measures to ensure a CCM win and it is believed by many that the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) purposely spoiled the elections. ZEC poorly organized the elections and later on announced a re-run in 16 constituencies in Zanzibar Urban District. CUF went on to boycot the whole election giving what CCM called "Ushindi wa Kishindo", which literally translates to "overwhelming victory" but the oppostion framed it as "forceful victory". It was clear that Zanzibaris would have to wait longer to witness peaceful elections as police continued to harrass the opposition months before and after the election day (view police brutality pictures). Commonwealth election observers called the 2000 elections as "shambles" and opposition supporters brought forward their protests to the goverment of Amani Abeid Karume.