Preliminary voting results from the Tanzanian General Elections have revealed that the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) Party is leading over the Ukawa opposition alliance.

Preliminary voting results from the Tanzanian General Elections have revealed that the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) Party is leading over the Ukawa opposition alliance.

Tanzanians at election rally

However, with only 3 million votes counted, with 23 million more votes needing to be counted, the race is still far too early to call.

The constituencies represented in Tanzania’s Parliament have increased to 265 seats from 239, according to the East African newspaper. The newspaper has also reported that the CCM has won 92 of the first 129 Parliamentary polls announced by election officials.

John Pombe Magufuli, the Presidential candidate for CCM, is polling at 56.68 percent of total votes reported.  Edward Lowassa, from the Ukawa opposition alliance, is polling at 41.52 percent of total votes reported.

The CCM has been the ruling Party in Tanzania since independence in 1961. In 1992 multi-party democracy was introduced and the CCM continued to win every general election. Despite this political dominance, the Party has seen losses in Parliamentary poll for the past two election cycles. Many analysts predicted that this election will be the most competitive election in Tanzanian history.

Preliminary poll results have already shown prominent CCM political leaders losing their Parliamentary seats, suggesting to political observers that Ukawa opposition candidates could have a relatively strong performance this year. Stephen Wasira the Agriculture Minister under President Jakaya Kikwete lost his Parliamentary seat to Ester Bulaya of the Chadema party. The Investment Minister, Deputy Health Minister, and Deputy Education Minister have also lost their seats, according to the East African newspaper and Associated Press.

The semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar, the historical center for opposition politics in Tanzania, has seen tensions rise particularly after Seif Sharif Hamad, the opposition leader in Zanzibar, declared himself the winner of the presidential election for the island on Monday. Police officers fired tear gas to disperse Mr. Hamad’s supporters.

Zanzibar has experienced post-election violence in the past and many observers fear that heated political rhetoric could engender more violence this election cycle.

African Union (AU), Commonwealth, and European election observers celebrated the peaceful nature of polling on Sunday.  However, observers from the European Union (EU) criticized the electoral process as not fully transparent.  Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who was asked to Chair the AU election observer mission, called upon all political actors to accept the results of the election.