General elections were held in Zanzibar on 17 January 1961 for the Legislative Council. The result saw the Afro-Shirazi Party win ten seats, the Zanzibar Nationalist Party nine, and the Zanzibar and Pemba People's Party three.Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thibaut (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p. 882
The Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) won ten seats, and the Zanzibar Nationalist Party (ZNP) won nine; the ASP won the constituency of Chake-Chake by just one vote, with 1,538 votes to the ZNP's 1,537."Afro-Shirazi Party Wins in Zanzibar", Africa Special Report (African-American Institute, 1961) p1951 The Guinness Book of World Records listed the result in its annual editions under "Closest election".Mark Young, ed., The Guinness Book of World Records 1998 (Bantam Books, 1998) p228
As both the ASP and the ZNP attempted to form a government, two ZPPP members joined the ZNP and one the ASP. Due to the resulting stalemate, fresh elections were held in June.Zanzibar: 1961 Elections EISA
Results
References