The United States says Zimbabwe's recent presidential election was marred by violence in the aftermath of the vote, while calling on the winner to show "magnanimity" and the opposition to show "graciousness in defeat."
The poll held on Monday was the first after the repressive rule of Robert Mugabe and was won by Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former ally of the ousted autocrat.
Defeated opposition leader Nelson Chamisa decried the official results as a sham, sparking a deadly crackdown on protesters in Harare on Wednesday when troops opened fire, killing six.
In a statement, US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the vote "presented the country with an historic chance to move beyond the political and economic crises of the past and toward profound democratic change."
"The Zimbabwean people turned out massively to cast their votes, underscoring their aspirations for a better future, despite challenges during the pre-election period," she said.
"Unfortunately, Zimbabwe's success in delivering an election day that was peaceful, and open to international observers, was subsequently marred by violence and a disproportionate use of deadly force against protestors by the security forces."
Opposition MDC party supporters protest in the streets of Harare during clashes with police. Source: AAP
She added that the US extended its condolences to the families and friends of those killed and injured while appealing to political leaders to maintain calm.
While the US was continuing to review data by its own observation teams and other international and local observers, "we encourage all stakeholders and citizens to pursue any grievances peacefully and through established legal channels," the statement continued.
"We encourage all political leaders to show magnanimity in victory and graciousness in defeat."
Final results showed Mnangagwa, 75, won 50.8 percent of Monday's vote against Chamisa's 44.3 percent -- a knife-edge 0.8 percent above the threshold needed to avoid a run-off.
Mnangagwa was allegedly involved in state violence during the 2008 elections when then opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of the run-off after at least 200 of his supporters were killed in attacks.
Apart from Mugabe, who ruled with an iron fist since independence from Britain in 1980 until last year, he is the only president that Zimbabwe has known.
Zimbabwe Republic Police on the streets of Harare. Source: AP
President Cyril Ramaphosa of neighbouring South Africa was the first key partner to congratulate Mnangagwa, calling on all Zimbabweans to accept the result.
Chamisa has alleged flagrant vote-rigging under the Zimbabwe Election Commission, a body which under Mugabe was frequently accused of helping to fix elections in favour of ZANU-PF.
"Mr Mugabe was at least sophisticated," Chamisa complained.
ZEC officials have robustly denied allegations of bias or rigging, and international observers have largely praised the conduct of election day itself.
But EU monitors said that Mnangagwa, who enjoyed tacit military support and control of state resources, benefited from an "un-level playing field".
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network, a non-partisan observer group, estimated Chamisa could have won up to 47.8 percent of the vote based on its monitoring work.
Chamisa urged opposition supporters to refrain from violence as he pursues the legal route -- though such a challenge appears to offer opposition party MDC little hope of overturning the outcome.
Soldiers and police came out in Harare in force on Thursday after the deadly unrest, clearing the city-centre, but by Friday the streets and markets were crowded as usual.
In the suburb of Mbare, jubilant ZANU-PF supporters waved party banners as music blared from a car.
"This is a new Zimbabwe, we are happy," said Tendai Mugadzi, a 32-year-old IT specialist.
He was untroubled that Mnangagwa had won by a wafer-thin margin.
"It just shows that this was a free and fair election," he said.
ZANU-PF also won a large majority in parliamentary elections held alongside the presidential vote.
On Saturday, 21 people arrested during a raid on MDC headquarters are due to appear in court in Harare charged with "public violence" during post-election protests.
