John Magufuli elected as President of Tanzania

23:36

✸ The son of a peasant farmer, John Pombe Magufuli and renowned political leader of the ruling

Chama Cha Mapinduzi party has won the Tanzanian presidential election.

✸ With this victory John Magufuli became fifth President of Tanzania since its independence from

United Kingdom in 1961. John Magufuli defeated his rival Edward Lowassa, by securing 58.46 per cent of the total votes while his rival got 39 per cent votes.

✸ Mr. Magufuli’s victory extends the rule of the the current ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi, or

C.C.M. which has dominated Tanzania, under one name or another, since independence in the 1960s.

Facts to know about John Pombe Magufuli :-

✸ Magufuli was once a maths and chemistry teacher, he went on to become an industrial chemist - and was awarded a doctorate in chemistry from Dar es Salaam University in 2009.

✸ He has served as a Member of Parliament since 1995 and was Deputy Minister of Works from 1995

to 2000, Minister of Works since 2010, Minister of Lands and Human Settlement from (2006 -2008).

✸ He became known as "The Bulldozer" for driving a programme to build roads across the country. He

performed push-ups at rallies to refute allegations by the opposition that he was physically unfit for the top job.