On Saturday a referendum was held in Zanzibar. It was called following an agreement between the two main parties on the island, the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), which also rules on the mainland, and the Civic United Front (CUF).

The question posed was whether or not the 1984 Zanzibar constitution should be reformed to allow for a power-sharing government after the presidential and legislative elections that are scheduled for 31 October. The plan is for the party that wins the presidency to take the Second Vice-President portfolio, but for the losers to take the First Vice-President post. The post of Chief Minister (prime minister) will be abolished. Ministries will be distributed proportional to the seats won in the House of Representatives.

The text of the 1984 constitution as amended up to 2001 is available here. I do not have the text of the reform.

The agreement was reached after two very divisive elections in 2000 and 2005. There is a report on the 2005 election here.

Anyway, the proposal was passed. The Zanzibar Electoral Commission reports that 186,669 people voted ‘yes’ and 95,324 voters voted ‘no’. This is a 66.2% vote in favour.