Ruling party’s John Magufuli declared Tanzania's President-elect

Tanzania’s President-elect John Pombe Magufuli. PHOTO: AFP

DAR ES SALAAM: Tanzania's Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) has extended its 51-year reign after the ruling party's presidential candidate John Pombe Magufuli was declared the East Africa nation's President-elect.

Results from the country's 264 constituencies Thursday showed Magufuli had floored his closest challenger, Edward Lowassa of Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) by a margin of over 2 million votes.
Magufuli garnered 8,882,935 votes- 58.56 percent of the vote- against Lowassa's 6,072,848 votes (39.9 percent) in results declared by the National Electoral Commission (NEC).
 The elections body declared the results at Dar Es Salaam International convention Centre yesterday under a cloud of controversy, with Lowassa protesting that the credibility of the election was in doubt.