Unguja. The High Court of Zanzibar has issued a temporary order stopping the destruction of election materials from the 2025 General Election following an application filed by 17 candidates from the opposition ACT Wazalendo party.
According to a press statement released on by ACT Wazalendo, the order was issued by the High Court of Zanzibar at the Tunguu Registry, presided over by Justice Salma Hassan, in Miscellaneous Civil Application No. 18 of 2026.
The court directed that the status quo be maintained, effectively restraining the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) from destroying any election documents pending a full hearing of the matter with both parties present.
The applicants are also plaintiffs in Election Petitions Nos. 2 to 18 of 2025, which challenge the conduct and outcomes of the 2025 General Election in several Unguja constituencies.
They filed the application under a Certificate of Urgency after ZEC early this week publicly announced plans to incinerate election materials related to the polls.
ACT Wazalendo said the court considered the seriousness of the matter and the risk of irreparable harm to the administration of justice if the documents were destroyed before the determination of the pending election petitions.
“The honourable court ordered that all election documents must remain intact until the applications are heard inter partes,” the statement said.
The materials covered by the court order include a wide range of statutory election forms and records from polling stations in constituencies such as Pangawe, Malindi, Kiembe Samaki, Chumbuni, Chaani, Makunduchi, Mwera, Nungwi, Tumbatu, Mkwajuni, Bumbwini, Mpendae, Mtoni, Welezo, Amani, Mwanakwerekwe and Kijini.
Among the documents listed are polling station handover forms, ballot paper accountability forms, polling station closure forms, polling station results forms for the election of members of the House of Representatives, constituency-level consolidated results forms, applications for early voting, and the official list of voters authorised to cast ballots during early voting on October 28, 2025.
ACT Wazalendo argues that the preservation of these materials is critical for the fair and effective determination of the election petitions currently before the court.
The case is scheduled to return to court on February 10, 2026.
