Zimbabwe's incumbent leader Emmerson Mnangagwa narrowly won the nation's presidential election Friday in the first vote since the fall of longtime leader Robert Mugabe.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) announced Friday morning that Mnangagwa received 2,460,463 votes, representing 50.8 percent of the total votes.

His biggest rival, Nelson Chamisa from the opposition MDC Alliance, received 44.3 percent of the vote. The other 21 presidential candidates shared the remaining votes.

The streets of the capital city were quiet with a heavy presence of military and police after the announcement of the electoral results.

Mnangagwa said he was "humbled" by his win.

"Thank you Zimbabwe! I am humbled to be elected President of the Second Republic of Zimbabwe," Mnangagwa said on Twitter. "Though we may have been divided at the polls, we are united in our dreams."

"This is a new beginning. Let us join hands, in peace, unity and love, and together build a new Zimbabwe for all," Mnangagwa tweeted after a week which started with peaceful voting Monday but spiraled into deadly violence in Harare on Wednesday.

Mnangagwa, 75, is Zimbabwe's second executive president after Mugabe, who assumed the position in 1987.

The MDC Alliance rejected the results of the presidential poll.

Party chairperson Morgan Komichi took the stage moments before the ZEC's announcement, saying the MDC Alliance "totally rejects" the results and he had not signed the election results. Police removed him from the room.

The ruling party garnered a two-thirds majority in the parliamentary election, also held on Monday.

According to National Assembly Constituency results announced by the ZEC, the Zanu-PF party has already won a majority of 145 seats out of the 210-seat parliament while its nearest rival MDC Alliance won 63.

Several people were killed Wednesday when troops fired live rounds to disperse opposition supporters alleging the vote had been rigged.

Mnangagwa and the ruling party blamed the opposition for inciting the violence, while the MDC Alliance denounced the "excessive" military force used against protesters.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on political leaders and electoral contestants to deal with any disputes through peaceful means such as dialogue and in accordance with the law. 

Xinhua