Tanzania’s governing party has picked defence minister Dr Hussein Mwinyi as Zanzibar presidential candidate in the October polls.
Mwinyi won the inter-party elections by over 78 percent, in a vote that was supervised by President John Pombe Magufuli.
Dr. Mwinyi the son of the second President of Tanzania Ali Hassan Mwinyi floored Mr. Shamsi Vuai Nahodha and Dr. Khalid Mohamed to win the ticket.
Mr. Vuai got 16 votes, Dr Mohamed garnered 19 votes whereas Dr. Mwinyi amassed 129 votes.
The party’s National Executive Council had earlier submitted five names for the top position pin the isles to the Central Committee and three names were thereafter considered for nominations.
In March this year, Tanzanian President John Magufuli said the country’s October 2020 general elections will be held as planned despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The elections will be held as planned. There are people who think that the elections will be postponed. Nobody wants to stay in office forever,” he said in an event televised live by state-run Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation.
At the beginning of this year, Magufuli assured diplomats based in the East African nation of a fair, free and peaceful October 2020 general elections.
Over 30 million Tanzanians out of a population of 55 million will vote for councilors, parliamentarians in the general elections.
