DAR ES SALAAM, Dec. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Tanzanian Foreign Minister Jakaya Kikwete has been elected as president, according to the National Electoral Commission (NEC) on Sunday.

    Kikwete, presidential candidate for the ruling Revolutionary Party, will succeed President Benjamin Mkapa, who was constitutionally barred from seeking a third term as the east African nation's leader.

    According to the NEC, Kikwete won 9,056,977 votes. His lead is more than seven times his nearest rival's votes. Ibrahim Lipumba, presidential candidate for the main opposition Civic United Front party, received 1,316,868 votes.

    The official turnout figure was 72 percent. The election was peaceful on the mainland.

    The Tanzanian general elections, the third multiparty polls in this country since 1995, were already postponed from October 30 to December 14 because of the death of a presidential running mate ofthe Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA). Enditem