Tanzania's ruling party candidate John Magufuli won hotly contested presidential elections, officials announced Thursday, but the opposition said the vote was rigged and also claimed victory. The win by Magufuli with over 58 percent of votes cements the long-running Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party's firm grip on power, ruling Tanzania since 1977 when two independence-era parties merged.
But tensions are high amid deep concern at opposition claims of rigging, as well as the semi-autonomous Zanzibar archipelago's decision to annul polls. "I duly declare John Pombe Magufuli to have been duly elected President of the United Republic of Tanzania," National Electoral Commission (NEC) chief Damian Lubuva announced. His running mate Samia Suluhu Hassan will become Tanzania's first ever female vice president.
Magufuli, a former chemistry teacher who also celebrates his 56th birthday on Thursday, ran on an anti-corruption platform, and secured a convincing victory over his closest rival, ex prime minister Edward Lowassa who won 40 percent. Lowassa, a former CCM stalwart turned opposition chief, rejected the official results and accused the election body of falsifying tallies.
"We refuse to accept this attempt to rob the citizens of Tanzania of their democratic rights, which is being done by the National Electoral Commission by announcing results which are not the actual results," Lowassa told reporters. "We are requesting that the National Electoral Commission announces that Edward Lowassa is the winner of the presidency," he said.
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