President Yoweri Museveni has congratulated his Tanzanian counterpart following a landslide victory in the just concluded presidential elections in the neighboring country."Congratulations to His Excellency @MagufuliJP [Magufuli] and Chama Cha Mapinduzi Party on the resounding victory in the just-concluded elections. Uganda looks forward to working even more closely with you and the people of Tanzania to deepen our social, economic, and political ties. Hongera," Museveni posted on his Twitter handle on Saturday.
John Pombe Magufuli, who was the flagbearer for the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) garnered 84% of the votes while his closest rival, the Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) party candidate, Tundu Lissu, 52, got only 13%.
agufuli was declared the winner on Friday by the country's electoral commission.
"The commission declares John Magufuli of CCM (Chama Cha Mapinduzi) who garnered the majority of votes as the winner in the presidential seat..." said commission chairman Semistocles Kaijage.
Voter turnout was 50.7% from more than 29 million voters, with over 260,000 votes declared invalid, local media reported.
In 2015, Magufuli won with only 58% of the vote.
The resounding victory in Wednesday's vote will further cement the power of a party that has been in power since independence in 1961.