Harare, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa said Friday that he was "humbled" to have won the country's landmark election, hailing it as a "new beginning" after the ousting of autocrat Robert Mugabe.
"Thank you Zimbabwe! I am humbled to be elected President of the Second Republic of Zimbabwe," he said in a Twitter message.
"Though we may have been divided at the polls, we are united in our dreams. This is a new beginning," the message added.
"Let us join hands, in peace, unity & love, & together build a new Zimbabwe for all!"
The message came shortly after Zimbabwe's electoral commission declared Mnangagwa the winner with 50.8 percent of the vote -- avoiding a run-off by the narrowest of margins.
Nelson Chamisa of the opposition MDC party got 44.3 percent of the vote, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said.
"Mnangagwa, Emmerson Dambudzo, of Zanu-PF party is therefore duly declared elected president of the Republic of Zimbabwe," announced ZEC chair Priscilla Chigumba.
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