Reaching across party boundaries, the Civic United Front (CUF) began making moves on 22 May to impeach President Karume over the marginalizing of Zanzibar.

Below is an article written by Rodgers Luhwago and published by The Citizen:

The political standoff in Zanzibar took a new twist yesterday [22 May 2008], with the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) declaring that it will seek to impeach President Amani Abeid Karume.

CUF, which has been at loggerheads with the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) over the stalled Zanzibar Mwafaka talks, said it was planning a motion in the House of Representatives to remove President Karume from power, accusing him of violating the Isles Constitution.

Addressing a press conference at their head office in Dar es Salaam, the CUF officials also raised other issues on the Mwafaka stalemate.

Wawi MP Hamad Rashid Mohammed said the opposition party felt aggrieved by President Karume's apparent discriminatory remarks against the people of Pemba during his press conference at State House in Zanzibar on Monday [19 May 2008].

Mr Mohammed, the opposition leader in the Union Parliament, said Mr Karume had conceded that his administration had largely sidelined the people of Pemba because they did not vote for him in the 2005 General Election.

Flanked by CUF deputy secretary-general (Zanzibar) Juma Duni Haji and the party's head of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Mr Ismail Jussa, Mr Mohammed said the President's remarks amounted to a violation of both the Zanzibar and Union constitutions.

He said that both constitutions state that whoever is elected president must uphold the unity of the country in the Zanzibar and Union governments.

"Is there any article in the Isles Constitution that allows the President to discriminate against some people just because they did not vote for him?" Mr Mohammed asked.

He announced that the preparation of the motion to impeach Mr Karume had already begun, adding that "if all goes as planned, it will be read in the House of Representatives in the session scheduled for next month" [June 2008].

However, the plan may not easily sail through in the House of Representatives as, according to the Isles Constitution, a written statement on the motion must be signed by not less than half of the total number of members of the House of Representatives.

There are only 24 CUF members in the 77-strong House of Representatives.

The Isles Constitution also directs that such a written statement must explain the offences the President is alleged to have committed and must be presented to Speaker of House of Representatives 30 days before being presented in the House.

The written statement to be presented to the Speaker of House of Representatives must also propose the formation of a commission of inquiry into the matter before instituting further legal steps.

Asked if the smaller number of CUF members was not a hindrance to the party's mission, Mr Mohammed said it was important for the trial to go into the record.

"However, there is no partisan politics in this matter. This is purely about the welfare of Zanzibar. Therefore, we hope to get the support from those wishing Zanzibar the best," said Mr Mohammed.

This is the first time since independence four decades ago that a party has declared intention to impeach the Isles President.

There have been complaints by Pemba residents that the Zanzibar Government has been discriminating them in almost all spheres of life. They claim that the twin island of Unguja always gets first priority in the allocation of funds for development projects and monopolises the key government positions.

Speaking about CUF's recent appeal to President Jakaya Kikwete to personally intervene and help resolve the political impasse in Zanzibar, Mr Mohamed showed reporters a copy of a letter dated May 12, 2008, which was delivered to a State House official on May 16, 2008, who then acknowledged receipt by signing the dispatch book.

"The State House director of communications, Mr Salva Rweyemamu, claimed they had not received any letter from CUF, but we handed it to them on May 16 [2008], as this dispatch book shows," Mr Mohammed said, showing the reporters the signature of the official who received the letter.

The letter written by CUF secretary-general Maalim Seif Shariff Hamad calls upon the President to bring together Mr Karume and Mr Hamad to end the political crisis.

Mr Mohammed said it would not make sense to go for a referendum to determine how Zanzibar should be governed as "it is the same votes that have always been the source of the political rift in the Isles that will be counted".

Two weeks ago, a group of Pemba elders were arrested after they handed a petition to the United Nations office in Dar es Salaam, calling for the island's secession from Zanzibar and the Union.

They were released on bond after spending six days in custody, being interrogated over what the police termed were possible treasonable offences.

However, on Wednesday [21 May 2008], some of the elders, in an interview with our Kiswahili sister newspaper, Mwananchi, vowed that they would now send their petition to the EU, the African Union, Sadc, EAC and the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation.

The elders are accusing the Zanzibar Government of marginalizing Pemba.