20101102
africanews

A Tanzanian court has jailed Daudi Gindishi, 41, three years in prison after he was convicted of voting twice during general elections on Sunday. The Maswa district court has said the penalty should be a lesson to other people with similar habits. Local media reported the judgment happened on Monday.

The court would not consider the suspect’s defence who says this was his first offence. Magistrate Thomas Mtani said voting twice is very serious offence and sentenced the jail term without the option of paying the fine.

The security police arrested the man on Sunday because of suspicious of voting twice, the Tanzanian’s Citizen Newspaper reported.

The Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) agents at Ghalani polling station in Mwanitumai village saw the suspect entering the station with six ballot papers.

When he was searched he was found with the voting papers and after interrogation he admitted that he was given the ballots by the returning officer at the poling centre who also allowed him to vote twice.

The court also heard that the retuning officer had promised the suspect Sh100, 000 if he managed to vote twice.

The Tanzanian’s general election on Sunday had caused tensions between Tanzania's ruling party and two challenging parties as the president of the relatively peaceful east African nation sought a second term.

The opposition parties said the election was rigged and accused the National Electoral Commission for bias.

The opposition supporters and police clashed in the country’s capital city of Dar es Salaam and Mwanza as the demonstrators angered delaying to release the results of Sunday's presidential and parliamentary elections.

Vote counting was still going on Monday, with final results of the general election expected to be announced on Tuesday or Wednesday.

The number of eligible voters in Sunday's general elections reached about 19.67 million and about 51,380 polling centres were set up, according to the National Electoral Commission.

Voting on the palm-fringed islands off Tanzania was tainted by bloodshed and allegations of ballot rigging in 2000 and 2005.