The long-awaited results of Zimbabwe's troubled presidential election have finally been announced.

According to official results, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has secured 47.9 per cent of the vote, while President Robert Mugabe has won 43.2 per cent.

However, both candidates have fallen short of the 50 per cent needed for an outright win, forcing a second round of voting.

Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party has previously stated that it would reject the official results.

The party says Mr Tsvangirai picked up 50.3 per cent of the presidential vote.

The MDC claims Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF party has rigged the voting.

The Secretary General of the MDC, Tendai Biti, told the BBC that "the party would go to court to try to declare Mr Tsvangirai the next President of Zimbabwe on the basis that he won more votes than Mr Mugabe".

Zimbabwe, a country with a rapidly declining economy, has been waiting for the presidential results for nearly five weeks.

Mr Mugabe is bidding for an astonishing sixth term in office, potentially seeing him in power until he is just short of his 90th birthday.

The article Zimbabwe finally announces presidential results originally appeared on 999 Today