Burkina Faso presidential candidate Roch Marc Christian Kabore from the MPP party waves during a rally in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Friday, Nov. 27, 2015. Last year, longtime strongman Blaise Compaore resigned amid protests that brought hundreds of thousands of Burkinabe into the streets, furious over the president聮s attempt to circumvent constitutional term limits and stay in office. The October 2014 uprising ushered in a transition that ends with presidential and legislative elections on Sunday, Nov. 29, 2015, the most hotly contested in the history of this West African nation. AP Photo
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso鈥擱och Marc Christian Kabore won Burkina Faso鈥檚 presidential election, official results showed, after a year of turmoil that saw the west African country鈥檚 former leader deposed and the military try to seize power in a coup.
Kabore, who governed under former strongman Blaise Compaore before turning his back on the old regime, won the vote in the first round with 53.49 percent of ballots, the electoral commission said late Monday.
鈥淲e must get to work immediately. Together we must serve the country,鈥� he told a crowd of several thousand supporters outside his party headquarters, pledging his 鈥渄etermination to open up the opportunities for a better tomorrow.鈥�
The new president also expressed his 鈥渨arm congratulations鈥� to the election authorities that organised the poll, the first time in almost three decades Burkina has voted in a new leader after Compaore was ousted in a popular uprising last year.
Kabore鈥檚 main rival Zephirin Diabre, who took 21.65 percent of votes, congratulated the former premier just before the results were released, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
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