Tanzania Elections 2015: John Pombe Magufuli Wins Presidency

John Pombe Magufuli has won Tanzania’s presidential election with 58% of the vote, the electoral commission says.

His main rival, opposition Ukawa coalition candidate Edward Lowassa has rejected the official results that gave him 40% of the ballots cast.

Edward Lowassa earlier claimed he had won with 62% of the vote.

The elections on October 25 were the most fierce John Magufuli’s governing CCM party faced after 54 years in power.

In Zanzibar, elections for the semi-autonomous archipelago’s parliament and president were annulled on October 28.

Zanzibar’s election chief Jecha Salum Jecha said the poll had been marred by gross irregularities, including rigging and physical fights between rival election commissioners.

CCM supporters have been celebrating John Magufuli’s victory outside the party’s headquarters in Tanzania’s main city, Dar es Salaam.

Incumbent President Jakaya Kikwete, who is standing down after two terms in office, retweeted a CCM photo of John Magufuli and the accompanying words: “Our next Commander-in-Chief, Dr. John Pombe Magufuli, the President-elect of The United Republic of Tanzania.”

EU observers said that the elections were “generally well organized” but “with insufficient efforts at transparency from the election administrations”.

Teams from the African Union and southern African regional body SADC said that the vote had largely been “free and fair”, despite all groups raising concerns over the subsequent annulment of Zanzibar’s local elections.