Tanzania is mourning the untimely passing of President John Magufuli who died on Wednesday March 17 at Mzena Hospital in Dar es Salaam.

Therefore, in accordance with constitution, the Vice President, Samia Suluhu Hassan will be sworn after 24 hours as the President of the Republic of Tanzania to serve the remaining term until 2025.

She is now in her capacity the acting President.

According to Article 37 (5) of The constitution of Republic of Tanzania, after the swearing in of Samia Suluhu Hassan as President, she will consult with the ruling party (CCM) on the appointee for the position of The Vice President.

The 37 (5) article states: ‘the office of President becomes vacant by reason of death, resignation, loss of electoral qualifications or inability to perform his functions due to physical infirmity or failure to discharge the duties and functions of the office of President, then the Vice-President shall be sworn in and become the President for the unexpired period of the term of five years and in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 40, and, after consultation with the political party to which he or she belongs, the President shall propose the name of the person who shall be Vice-President and such appointment shall be confirmed by the National Assembly by votes of not less than fifty percent of all the Members of Parliament.’

When she takes her oath, Ms Hassan will be the sixth president of the East African country and the second from the country's semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar.

She will subsequently consult with the ruling CCM party to nominate a vice-president. The constitution states that since she hails from Zanzibar, her deputy is required to come from the mainland.

Should she stay on as president for three years or more, the law states that she will be allowed to run for the presidency only once.