Tanzanian president Dr John Magufuli has officially been sworn in to office, alongside his Vice President Samia Hassan Suluhu in Dodoma. – By Gerald Gekara.
While taking up his incumbent role, Magufuli reitarated his committment to enhance bilateral relations during his second term.
Magufuli thanked God for his health saying the country had escaped the wrath of the coronavirus pandemic.
Magufuli took the opportunity to appreciate and defend the National Electoral Commission from the opposition, who angrily disputed the handling of the exercise.
Opposition parties led by Chadema’s candidate, Tundu Lissu contested Magufuli’s 84.4 per cent win in the polls.
According to final results, Dr Magufuli had garnered 12,516,252 popular votes out of 14,830,195 valid votes cast in the October 28th 2020 General Election that fielded 14 opposition candidates.
Tundu Lissu of Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) garnered a total of 1,933,271 votes, an equivalent to 13 per cent of all valid votes.
Lissu slammed the election body for conforming to the ruling party and denying them a chance to have a fair election.
He was briefly arrested for allegedly organizing riots to dispute the elections. Lissu’s detention on Monday came hours after the arrest of several other opposition figures.
