The stalled Mwafaka talks took a new turn on Sunday with the government deciding to blame the Civic United Front for the lack of progress.

Below is an article written by Mkinga Mkinga and Vicent Mnyanyika and published by The Citizen:

The Civic United Front (CUF) yesterday dismissed as “a pack of lies”, a statement issued on Sunday [11 May 2008] by the ruling party absolving itself from blame over the stalled Zanzibar peace talks. The opposition said it would today release 'full details of what really transpired and agreed' during the 14 months of Mwafaka talks.

CCM on Sunday accused CUF of being 'insincere' in the negotiations. The ruling party also said the opposition was misleading the public on the protracted and apparently collapsed Mwafaka talks.

But yesterday [12 May 2008], CUF chairman Prof Ibrahim Lipumba said members of the Mwafaka Committee from his party would today prove CCM wrong by issuing a strong statement backed by evidence to show the public who really violated the peace deal.

“We shall put everything for the public tomorrow. The secretary general and his team will face the press to show what we agreed in 14 months of talks between our two political parties. What was said on Sunday was a total lie aimed at misleading the public and creating a bad image of our party,” Prof Lipumba said.

He said CCM was avoiding crucial areas, citing the ruling party's call for a referendum as a new inclusion which was not among five top issues of the talks. "CCM has also decided to involve some figures who participated in the Mwafaka talks to authenticate lies.

We would like them to explain to the media by providing documents which will support their arguments," said the opposition leader. The two parties reached a deadlock immediately after CCM's Butiama meeting during which its National Executive Committee (NEC) resolved not to implement the agreements without a referendum.

The ruling party says it is crucial to have the people choose what they wanted through a referendum. But the opposition argues that the original agreement did not provide for a referendum. It wants immediate formation of a power sharing government as spelt out in the original agreement.

According to the original agreement, the power sharing government should be introduced before the 2010 general election. The agreement also does not say anything on whether the power sharing agreement should be decided through the referendum as submitted by the ruling party’s mediation team in Butiama.

“Under this principal of building mutual trust towards the new era of political direction in Zanzibar, President Karume will form the coalition or government of national unity soon after the peace accord deal has been signed by both parties.

The government of national unity in Zanzibar will also be the main organ to implement the peace accord agreement and conducive environment for free and fair election ahead the 2010 General election.”

However, part of a special report presented by the CCM mediation team to the National Executive Committee (NEC) last week in Butiama reads: "The power sharing agreement should be accepted by the party under the conditions that it takes off after the 2010 General Election...

There’s an idea, which our team received from the Vice Chairman of CCM (Zanzibar), which is about the agreement to introduce power sharing agreements in Zanzibar. He has the idea that the crucial thing like this which also brings hope should not only be passed by the (CUF) Central Committee and (CCM) NEC.

Since the key stakeholders are the people of Zanzibar, it should be wise to give them the opportunity to decide about this power sharing agreement. But opposition leaders who spoke to The Citizen yesterday strongly denounced the report tabled by the CCM negotiation team, insisting that it carried personal views. CUF’s director of foreign affairs, Ismail Jussa said the issue of the referendum was 'shocking'.

However, contacted for comment on the circulating document purported to have been altered, CCM secretary General Yusuf Makamba defended the decision to include President Karume’s idea in the report.

“President Karume is one of the key players in peace deal. His ideas are very crucial and he should be consulted where necessary because at the end of the day, he carries the big burden of implementing whatever will be agreed," he said.