Magufuli takes the top prize

Dar es Salaam. He campaigned hard, going from village to village, and showering his supporters with promises.

He did not let the Opposition enjoy an exclusive monopoly on the change message. Dr John Magufuli told his supporters he would usher in a more meaningful change if they voted for him.

He emphasised that it would not be business as usual in his administration and that he would bring back the long lost vivacity in the civil society by offering better terms to civil servants, but dealing, squarely, with the lazy ones. He further pledged he would improve services in public hospitals and punish medical staff who steal medicine; he would industrialise the country and “transform it into Europe”.

Dr Magufuli was graceful enough to admit that the system had been infiltrated by the corrupt, who stole from the government and did little to help the poor. He admitted that there were several things that were wrong with past administrations. But he would change all that, he assured Tanzanians.

And on October 25, close to 60 per cent of voters said “Yes we trust you!” according to the yesterday’s announcement by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) .

For those who voted for Dr Magufuli, the presidential victory was the most deserving and priceless gift they could give him on his 56th birthday.

According to the NEC chairman, Judge (rtd) Damian Lubuva, Dr Magufuli got 8,882,935 votes while Mr Lowassa got 6,072,848, equivalent to 39.97 per cent of all votes cast.

Opposition put a good fight

Dr Magufuli’s victory did not come easy. He faced a deep pocketed, well-connected, popular politician whose presidential ambitions have been an open secret for the whole of the last decade.

Mr Lowassa’s “network” of high-placed supporters and rich financiers was a force to reckon with within the ruling party CCM where he had been seen as the frontrunner in the primaries earlier this year.

He defected to the opposition party, Chadema, and was announced the party’s flagbearer in August, a month after failing to clinch the candidacy in CCM. Mr Lowassa then went ahead and mounted a spirited campaign that got the strongest reception from the millions of disenfranchised youth. The huge rallies that were filled with roaring sounds of “People’s power” sent chills down the spines of members of the CCM establishment and encouraged opposition stalwarts to fight on. Analysts believe it is Mr Lowassa’s enigmatic persona and popularity that increased the momentum, which, however, had impact mostly in urban areas areas.

The presidential results, with some few exceptions, followed that trend as Mr Lowassa garnered more votes in the urban areas. He won in nine out of ten constituencies in the Dar es Salaam region and handed over the city council to the opposition.

Mr Lowassa also won in major cities of Arusha and Mbeya, as Dr Magufuli succeeded in taking the two constituencies that form the Mwanza city council.

The vibrancy of this year’s campaign paid off in terms of voters turn-out, which according to NEC was 67.31 being an improvement from the 2010 presidential election which had 42.84 per cent turnout.

The total votes cast in the Sunday elections were 15,589,639, with 402,248 invalid votes.

This year’s turnout was the fourth highest since the first multiparty presidential elections were held in 1995. The turnout was 76.76 per cent in 1995. It increased to 84.43 in 2000 and slumped to 72 per cent in 2005 before decreasing further to 42.84 per cent in 2010.

People erupted with joy in the CCM stronghold areas of Dar es Salaam soon after NEC declared Dr Maguful the winner. Women led the pack singing, ululating and dancing as they praised Dr Magufuli as the “bulldozer” who uprooted the opposition.

ACT congratulatory message

The ACT-Wazalendo party candidate Anna Mgwira, who came a distant third with 0.65 per cent votes cast, telephoned Dr Magufuli to congratulate him, the party said in its website.

Dr Magufuli, who learnt of his victory at the State House, where he had camped together with President Jakaya Kikwete watching the live televised NEC’s announcements, acknowledged the congratulations.

“I urge you to read the ACT Manifesto because it has useful things that you can incorporate in plans to serve Tanzanians,” Ms Mghwira said in her statement.