Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Wednesday deplored violence that has marked campaigns for Zanzibar's presidential and legislative elections, calling upon ruling and opposition party leaders to ensure free and fair polls, according to AP. «We have seen tension in Zanzibar in the last two multi-party elections and we regret to see the recurrence of clashes and violence coupled by police shootings in recent days,» Fogh Rasmussen told journalists. At least three people were injured Tuesday in a fight between youth supporters of rival political parties triggered by a dispute over campaign posters in a Zanzibar neighborhood. «I met both president Amani Karume of (the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party) CCM and the opposition leader, Seif Shariff Hamad and told them that they should conduct peaceful elections _ free, fair, safe and transparent,» said Fogh Rasmussen. More than a dozen people have been killed and at least 48 have been injured in politically motivated violence in the last eight months, with dozens of homes and offices set on fire. Both sides have accused each other of recruiting youth militias to stage attacks.
