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1st LD Writethru: Former PM Kabore elected president of Burkina Faso

Xinhua, December 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

Roch Marc Christian Kabore, candidate of People's Movement for Progress (MPP), has won the presidential election in the West African nation of Burkina Faso, official results showed.

Kabore, served as prime minister and head of the National

Assembly under former President Blaise Compaore, received 53.5 percent of the votes in the Sunday election, the electoral commission said on Tuesday.

"We must get to work immediately. Together we must serve the country," he told a crowd of supporters outside his party headquarters, voicing his "determination to open up the opportunities for a better tomorrow."

The new president also expressed his "warm congratulations" to the election authorities that organized the poll, the first since the transitional government was established in 2014.

Kabore's main rival, former Economy and Finance Minister Zephirin Diabre, received 21.6 percent of the votes.

The election capped more than a year of upheaval in the country after Compaore was ousted in October 2014 in a uprising after more than two decades in power.

Kabore split with Compaore early last year and formed an opposition party.

The country was once again plunged into turmoil in September when the elite presidential guard loyal to Compaore tried to seize power, forcing the presidential and legislative elections to be delayed. Endi