The Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) on Saturday urged local voters to abide by electoral procedures and regulations while going to cast their ballots on Sunday.

ZEC Chairman Masauni Yusuf Masauni said in a statement that anyone possessing an identification card and his or her personal particulars match those on the voter register would be allowed to vote.

Masauni said that on average 350 voters are expected to cast ballots in each of the 1,560 polling stations in the Indian Ocean archipelago where three presiding officers will man each polling station that opens at 07:00 local time on Sunday morning and closes at 05:00 in the afternoon.

The voters who arrive at polling stations at 05:00 sharp will still be allowed to vote.

No one, however, is allowed to remain in the vicinity of the polling stations after having cast his or her ballot and each of the six political parties that are contesting the Zanzibar presidency will have its own polling agent present at each polling station.

Counting of votes will be conducted at the polling stations and the results of the parliamentary and local government elections will be announced after the counting whereas the results of the presidential elections from each polling station will be transferred to the Zanzibar Electoral Commission that is the sole official announcer of the result.

Masauni warned that it is a criminal offense for any one to announce the presidential election result before ZEC makes the announcement.

He appealed to all Zanzibar presidential candidates to accept defeat and he said that the candidate who disagrees with the announced presidential election result should resort to legal procedures to express his or her complaint instead of violating the law.

The existing government is obliged to take necessary measures to deal with any politically-motivated acts of violence caused by any defeated candidate, according to the ZEC.

Source: Xinhua