Former PM Kabore elected president of Burkina Faso

Roch Marc Christian Kabore has won Burkina Faso's presidential election, official results showed, after a year of turmoil that saw the west African country's former leader deposed and the military try to seize power.

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. 

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

Kabore's main rival Zephirin Diabre, who took 29.65 percent of votes, congratulated the former premier just before the results were released, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

The new president also expressed his "warm congratulations" to the election authorities that organised the poll, the first time in almost three decades Burkina has voted in a new leader.

The poll caps more than a year of upheaval in the country after Compaore was ousted in October 2014 by a popular uprising, after trying to change the constitution to extend his 27-year rule.

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

Finally held on November 29, the poll went off largely without incident, though some ballot stations were forced to stay open later than scheduled after long queues formed outside.

Phot Caption: Roch Marc Christian Kabore waves to supporters at party headquarters in Ouagadougou on December 1, 2015 after winning Burkina Faso's presidential election (AFP Photo/Issouf Sanogo)