Dr Magufuli wins landslide re-election as Tanzania’s president

01 Novembre 2020

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, November 1 (Infosplusgabon) - Tanzania’s President, Dr John Pombe Magufuli, has registered a landslide re-election victory, giving him a second and final five-year term in office following the country’s general election held on 28 October, 2020.

Announcing the final results on Friday evening, the Chairman of the National Electoral Commission (NEC), Justice Semistocles Kaijage, said that Dr Magufuli (61) of the ruling CCM party, had won the majority of the votes in the election.

According to the electoral authority’s final count, Magufuli collected 12,516,252 votes out of 15,910,950 cast while Tundu Lissu, Magufli’s biggest challenger and head of the biggest opposition party, CHADEMA, settled for 1,933,271 votes.

Justice Kaijage will present a victory certificate to the president-elect in the political capital, Dodoma, on Sunday.

Dr Magufuli's running mate, Samia Suluhu Hassan, automatically becomes the vice-president. Samia, who hails from Zanzibar, also served as Tanzania's vice-president under Dr Magufuli from 2015.

The ruling CCM has won a total of 256 parliamentary seats out of 264, with opposition parties settling for only eight seats.  The election has witnessed the opposition losing seats in traditional strongholds of Kilimanjaro, Arusha and Mbeya regions, as well as Pemba Island.

Dr Magufuli, former works minister who holds a doctorate in chemistry, was elected to the first five-year term in 2015, succeeding Jakaya Kikwete.

While the main opposition presidential candidate has declared that his party will not accept the result, claiming that the election was marred by widespread irregularities, analysts and some observers have applauded the 28 October, 2020, election as largely free and fair.

"Whatever happened on Wednesday was not an election, and thus we do not recognize it. We do not accept the result," Lissu told journalists at his residence in Dar es Salaam on Thursday.

According to the Tanzanian constitution, presidential election results declared by the electoral commission cannot be challenged in court.

Dr Magufuli who has steered Tanzania to a middle-income status five years ahead of schedule had an easy ride over his opponents, chiefly due to his stance against corruption.

In its anti-corruption drive, Magufuli’s administration established a special anti-graft court and sacked scores of dishonest public officials.

Achievements in his first five years include restoration of discipline in the civil service and control of government expenditure.

The CCM government also succeeded in the control and protection of the country’s natural resources, including minerals. It was during the first five years that the Magufuli administration enacted three mineral laws and made a number of reforms in the extractive industry.

Dr Magufuli has also managed to increase the government capacity to bring social services closer to the people, including provision of free education, improved health facilities and implementation of water projects and electricity across the country.

He also made investments in mega infrastructure projects such as reviving the national carrier, Air Tanzania, building standard gauge railway and power projects which, according to him, put in place the foundation for a strong economy.

However, his critics have been accusing his administration of suppressing free speech and political freedom, which the government has consistently denied.

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