Dar es Salaam - The ruling party candidate in Tanzania's general election, John Pombe Magufuli, has been declared the winner of the presidential election.
Magufuli, who will become Tanzania's fifth president, garnered 58% of the vote against 39% of the electorate who voted for his main opponent, Edward Lowassa, who represented an opposition coalition.
Magufuli's win will extend Chama Cha Mapinduzi's 54-year rule in East Africa's second largest economy.
However, the elections have not been without controversy. The polls in the autonomous island of Zanzibar were nullified because of irregularities.
The announcement of the results in the presidential election held over the weekend came on Thursday, even as Lowassa filed a petition with the Electoral Commission citing massive irregularities in the vote-counting process.
The National Electoral Commission (NEC) chairperson said the process had been free and fair.
NEC chairperson Damian Lubuva said: "We are doing it strictly in terms of the law and the Constitution. We are satisfied that beyond a shred of doubt that what we are doing here is constitutionally valid."
Chama Cha Mapinduzi has also secured an overall majority in Parliament but the opposition managed to defeat some key ministers.
Over 22 million voters turned up at polling stations across the country on Sunday. - SAnews.gov.za- NNN
